Devolin Column

August 3, 2007

Giving Parents Greater Choice in Child Care

Before I get to my main topic, I just want to say how much I enjoyed Lindsay’s 150th Annual Celebration. The parade was nothing short of spectacular, the Homecoming Weekend was very entertaining and back in June the Charter Day was something to experience.

I want to thank all the volunteers who worked tirelessly for the past year to make the various events a success. Well done, you have made your community proud! 

Now onto my main topic, during the last federal election campaign, my party made a commitment that one of our top-five priorities would be to support Canadian families and give them real choice in child care. 

As the father of two children under the age of five, I know first-hand the challenges facing parents today regarding child care and early education.

As your Member of Parliament, I believe that every family deserves a full range of child care options, and needs help to afford whatever child care option they choose.

Therefore, I was pleased to note recently that Ontario is starting to spend the money the federal government allocated as part of Budget 2007.

Businesses will also benefit directly from our commitment to supporting child care spaces. A new investment tax credit, announced in Budget 2007, of up to 25 per cent will go to businesses that create new child care spaces in the workplace to for up to $10,000 per space created. 

But our commitment does not end there. A year ago last month, we began delivering and parents started receiving $100 per month for every child under six. The Universal Child Care Benefit puts $2.4 billion in the hands of parents each year. This money goes directly to parents so they can decide the best way to balance home, work and other commitments because when it comes to raising children, we know that every family has its own needs. 

In addition, we are creating a new $2,000 Child Tax Credit that will provide up to $310 for parents of children under age 18. We think parents know what is best for their families based on their own circumstances and our Child Care plan puts parents in charge. 

In total, Canada’s New Government will provide nearly $5.6 billion this year in support of early learning and child care through transfers, direct spending and tax measures.

The previous Liberal government spent a lot of time talking about a national child care program but they didn’t get it done. We made a commitment to act with a plan that gives parents real choice in child care.