Liberals’ not-so-hidden agenda will be exposed
The Conservative Party today announced that it is launching a public information campaign to warn parents about the Liberal not-so-hidden agenda to scrap the $1200 universal child care benefit following a clumsy attempt by the Liberal war room to paper over their own leader’s crystal clear commitment to scrap the benefit.
“When they compare leaders, parents face a clear choice,” said Conservative candidate Lisa Raitt. “With Stephen Harper they’ll keep their $1200 universal child care benefit. With Stéphane Dion they’ll lose it.”
In 2006, Dion was asked point blank by the National Post: “Would you cancel the Tory day care plan?” and he replied with a clear answer: “Yes.” Dion said he favoured the so-called “Dryden Plan” which offered no direct payment to parents.
“This ad is fair and it’s factual,” said Raitt. “It serves as a public service announcement that reflects the true Liberal position on the $1200 universal child care benefit and it clearly demonstrates what’s at stake in this election campaign.”
Watch our ads
BACKGROUNDER
NOT WORTH THE RISK
Stéphane Dion’s Real Plans to Take Away the Universal Child Care Benefit:
The Interview
OCTOBER 21, 2006
National Post
Questions & Answers: Tete-a-tete with Dion
NATIONAL POST: Would you cancel the Tory daycare plan? What would you replace it with?
DION: Yes. The Dryden plan was much better.
The Conservative Record
On July 1, 2006, The Conservative Government introduced the Universal Child Care Benefit, which provides Canadian parents with $100 a month per child – or $1200 per year – for every child under the age of six.
By January 2008, the Universal Child Care Benefit was paid out to 1,478,272 families and 1,973,415 kids under six.
The following table outlines the cumulative amount of child care payments that have been made under the Conservative Government for each province and territory between July 2006 and February 2008.
|
Province/Territory |
$ Value of Payments Issued
July 2006 to February 2008
|
| Newfoundland and Labrador |
55.028,560 |
| Prince Edward Island |
16,531,480 |
| Nova Scotia |
101,885,161 |
| New Brunswick |
83,241,486 |
| Quebec |
903,203,117 |
| Ontario |
1,584,396,645 |
| Manitoba |
164,868,452 |
| Saskatchewan |
141,054,510 |
| Alberta |
494,569,827 |
British Columbia
|
477,625,290 |
Northwest Territories
|
7,121,325 |
Yukon Territories
|
4,043,895 |
| Nunavut |
8,134,630 |
Canadians living abroad*
|
2,603,630 |
| Canada |
4,045,307,880 |
The Conservative Government has also provided more direct support to families with children through a new $2000 Child Tax Credit for each child under 18, which will provide over 90 percent of families with tax relief of up to
$310 per child.
Together, the Universal Child Care Benefit and new Child Tax Credit substantially increase direct financial support to families with children. All told, direct federal support to families through the Universal Child Care Benefit, new Child Tax Credit, Child Care Tax Benefit, and the Child Care Expense Deduction is over $17 billion for 2007-08, with the majority of benefits directed to low and middle income families.
The Conservative Government has also introduced a new Investment Tax Credit which will provide a 25% credit towards capital and developmental costs for businesses that create new child care spaces for their employees and the surrounding community to a maximum of $10,000 per space, retroactive to March 19, 2007.
And the Conservative Government is transferring $250M each year to provinces and territories to support their priorities for child care spaces - so they can continue to build their child care systems to meet the needs of their own citizens.
