Can a parent's failure to apply for available government benefits lead to income being imputed?

Yes, where a parent could reasonably access government benefits or programs that would supplement or replace lost income, such as employment insurance or a disability-related benefit, and simply fails to apply without a good explanation, a court can consider that failure when deciding whether to impute income. The reasoning is that a parent's genuine, available resources are relevant to what they can realistically contribute to child support, and choosing not to pursue money they are reasonably entitled to can look similar to choosing not to work when the capacity to earn or receive that income exists.

This is not an unlimited principle: a court will look at whether the parent actually qualified for the benefit, whether applying would have been realistic given their circumstances, and whether there was a genuine barrier, such as not knowing the benefit existed or facing a legitimate obstacle to applying. A parent who was clearly eligible for a benefit and made no effort at all to apply is in a weaker position than one who attempted to apply and was refused, or who had a legitimate reason for not pursuing it. Because eligibility and effort are both fact-specific, documentation of what was available and what was actually done matters.