You have three children under eighteen. Your neighbour tells you that your children are eligible for family allowance. You are not sure which federal government department handles this program, so you call a local volunteer agency that assists immigrants in these matters. They give you the phone number for the Income Security Program, which you call.
A: Income Security Program.
B: Hello, can you tell me how I can apply for family allowance for my children?
A: Yes. What's your name and social insurance number?
B: I don't have a social insurance number yet, but I've applied for one.
A: Your children won't be able to qualify for this program until you get your S.I.N. number. We can send you an application, just as soon as you get your number.
B: Will my children receive their allowance during this waiting period?
A: Yes, we'll pay them retroactively right after their application is processed and approved.
B: Will I need any other supporting documents besides my Social Insurance Number to apply?
A: We'll need to see your passport and immigration paper as well. You'll have to make an appointment to come into our office in person with all these documents.
你有三個18歲以下的孩子。你的鄰居告訴你，你的孩子有資格領取家庭津貼。你不清楚哪一個聯邦政府機構處理這計劃，於是打電話到本地一幫助移民的志願團體去。他們把收入保障科的電話號碼給你，你就打去查詢。
甲：收入保障科。
乙：喂，你可以告訴我怎樣為我的孩子們申請家庭津貼嗎？
甲：可以。你叫什麼名字？你的勞工保險卡號碼是多少號？
乙：我沒有勞工保險卡號碼，但已經申請了。
甲：在你未取得工卡號碼之前，你的孩子還不能夠申請牛奶金。當你取到號碼時，我們會立即寄申請表給你。
乙：我的孩子們在等待期間會不會得到津貼呢？
甲：會，當他們的申請被審核和批準後，我們會補發這段期間的津貼。
乙：除了我的工卡號碼外，申請時還需要些什麼其他的證明文件呢？
甲：我們需要看看你的護照和移民入境文件。你需要約一個時間親自帶同所有文件來我們的辦事處。
本欄內容取材自《新移民英語》（Survival English for New Canadians） 。
LANGUAGE NOTES 語文註解
(1) Security —— 保障。
(2) Family allowance —— 政府提供給18歲以下兒童的津貼，俗稱牛奶金。
(3) Quality for —— 合資格申請。
(4) Waiting period —— 等候期間。
(5) Retroactively —— 回溯以前。
(6) Process —— 這裏解審查。
(7) Approve —— 批準。
(8) Supporting documents —— 證明文件。
(9) Immigtation paper —— 移民入境文件。
(10) Make an appointment —— 約一個時間。
(11) In person —— （慣用語）解親自。
