The director of legal services at the Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic says many low-income families will suffer when Ontario's transitional child benefit is cancelled.

The benefit, of up to $230 per month, bridges families on social assistance who cannot access the Canada child benefit, Sally Colquhoun said.

It's scheduled to end on Nov. 1.

"It's going to mean financial hardship," Colquhoun said of the cancellation. "When people have the choice between paying their rent or feeding their kids, that's a pretty hard choice."

There are numerous reasons people might not be able to access the federal benefit and might, therefore, be dependent on the provincial money, Colquhoun explained.

More demand on charities

New parents sometimes wait several months to receive the Canada child benefit, she said. Newcomers to Canada also can't access it right away.

The Canada Revenue Agency can also suspend it for any number of reasons, ranging from a late tax return to an investigation prompted by an estranged, non-custodial spouse filing a competing application for the benefit in order to make trouble.

Those suspensions can take months to reverse, Colquhoun added.

Around 16,000 children in Ontario currently rely on the transition benefit, Colquhoun said.

Without access to it, there will be more demand on charities in the city, she added, noting that Grace Place recently reported running out of food.

"It puts pressure on the community generally," she said."If people just got enough money from social assistance to buy groceries, that's what they would do with it."