Choice in childcare

The last two years have been tough on families. Schools and daycares have been closed, sports cancelled, children forced into social isolation.

Parents have had to make a lot of tough choices.

Choices that are made more difficult by the lack of available, affordable, and accessible childcare spaces.

Provinces across the country, led by all political stripes, have agreed childcare is an essential service. This is not a partisan issue.

Our Government will keep in place the childcare deals that the Government of Canada has signed with the provinces. This is a significant support that will help many families and give women, in particular, more choices about their working life.

But subsidized daycare doesn’t work for everyone, and Conservatives recognize that.

Watch my video:

We support choice in childcare as parents understand best how to raise their children.

If you agree that more childcare support is needed today, add your name here.

Our Government will also introduce a Choice in Childcare Tax Credit.

1. This would rebate up to 75% of childcare expenses for lower-income families.
2. Families will be financially better off, with the biggest gains going to lower and middle-income families.
3. This would eliminate the existing “two-thirds limit” that caps credit amounts at two-thirds of the lower-income parent, disproportionately taking funding away from lower-income families who need it the most.

Choice for childcare is good for families, for job creation and for the economy.

I know this works, because I’ve done it.

If you believe in making life more affordable for Canadian families, there is only one thing you need to do. Buy a membership for the Conservative Party by June 3rd, and mark Jean Charest as number one on your ballot.

I know that the cost of raising children doesn’t just begin after birth, and that parents-to-be need support as well. I will move eligibility for the Canada Child Benefit to the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy to give families a financial cushion to prepare for their growing family.

My Government will also make improvements to parental leave to give Canadian families more choice and flexibility. This will include:

1. Introducing a tax credit on the federal portion of EI benefits during parental leave that would effectively remove federal income tax on those amounts;
2. Eliminating the EI clawback on up to $20,000 of income earned while on parental leave, allowing parents who choose to work part-time or transition back to work to do so without being penalized; and
3. Extending the eligibility period for extended parental leave benefits for up to two years.

We can’t afford to wait another decade for childcare. Let’s support families today.