Our Conservative Government is committed to helping parents balance work and family life by providing them with real choices when deciding what is best for their children. That is why federal support to families with children is being provided through transfers to the provinces and territories, direct spending and tax measures for families.
Helping families has been a key priority for this government since 2006. It is for this reason that we created the Universal Child Care Plan, which includes the monthly Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), as well as financial support for the creation of child care spaces.
The UCCB, introduced in 2006, provides $100 per month to families for each child under the age of six. Since its inception, the Benefit has helped 2 million children through a total investment of about $2.6 billion annually.
Payments are made directly to parents, who can then choose the child care option that best suits their needs.
Some parents might use the UCCB to pay for child care fees. A parent who stays at home may use the Benefit for a preschool program or occasional care by a friend or neighbour. The UCCB may also be used to purchase learning materials. Parents may even wish to deposit all or part of the Benefit in a Registered Education Savings Plan. We trust that parents know what is best for their families.
In addition to the UCCB, the Government of Canada supports families with children through the Canada Child Tax Benefit (which includes the National Child Benefit Supplement), the Child Care Expense Deduction, and the Child Tax Credit. These provide families with tax savings of over $300 per year for each child under the age of 18.
As of July 1, 2009, we raised the income level at which the National Child Benefit Supplement for low-income families and the Canada Child Tax Benefit start to be reduced, providing an additional benefit of up to $436 for a low-income family with two children.
In 2010, the Government of Canada is also proposing to strengthen the Universal Child Care Benefit for single-parent families, by improving the taxation to ensure that they receive comparable tax treatment to two-parent families.
Budget 2010 also proposes to allow joint-custody parents to split the monthly UCCB amount when a child lives in both households (rather than the current arrangement whereby parents receive the Benefit for six consecutive months each). The amendment will ensure that this benefit is paid out in a timely fashion to help parents meet the needs of their children.
The federal government is also investing in the creation of new child care spaces. A 25‑percent investment tax credit for child care spaces is available to businesses that create new child care spaces for their employees, to a maximum of $10,000 per space created.
The Government also provides an additional $250 million per year to the provinces and territories to help support the creation of tens of thousands of new child care spaces across the country.
All of this is in addition to existing funding for early childhood development and early learning and child care transferred to the provinces and territories through the Canada Social Transfer ($850 million this year, growing by 3 percent annually beginning in 2009–2010), which has been extended to 2013–2014.
All told, the Government of Canada will be providing almost $6 billion in 2010–2011 in support of early childhood development and child care through transfers to the provinces and territories, direct spending and tax measures for families, including:
- $1.133 billion to the provinces and territories in support of early childhood development and child care, which will increase to almost $1.3 billion by 2013–2014;
- about $2.6 billion through monthly payments to parents for every child under the age of six through the Universal Child Care Benefit;
- $750 million in recognition of child care expenses through the Child Care Expense Deduction; and
- about $1.5 billion per year in tax support for families with children through the Child Tax Credit.
UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE BENEFIT (UCCB)
BY THE NUMBERS
- Number of months the UCCB has gone out to Canada’s families: 48
- Next UCCB payment: July 20, 2010
- Amount of money per family per month: $100 per month per child under the age of six
- Amount of money per family per year: up to $1,200 a year for each child under the age of six
- Amount of UCCB sent out each month: approximate average of $215 million in 2009–2010
- Amount of UCCB sent out each year: approximately $2.6 billion
- Number of families receiving the Benefit: approximately 1.5 million
- Number of children benefiting from the UCCB: over 2 million
