When will a child tax benefit be prorated between two parents?

This was followed by Lamarre Proulx J. in Bouchard v. R., [1998] 1 C.T.C. 3071 and by me in Pollak v. The Queen, 98-444(IT)I, January 22, 1999. Lamarre Proulx J. held that the eligibility of the parent claiming the benefit was to be determined "à un moment donné" (at any time). This implies that although the benefit cannot be prorated between two parents, a determination must be made at a particular time, and not on a yearly basis. Where a parent fulfils the criteria set out in section 6302 of the Regulations during a significant period of time -- in this case two months -- that parent is in that period an "eligible individual" for the purposes of the child tax benefit during that period. Such a determination on a monthly basis appears to be contemplated by sections 122.61 and 122.62. I am of course not talking about casual visits for a few days.