July 19, 2006

Canada’s New Government Delivers on Choice in Child Care

FORT MCMURRAY – Canada’s New Government is delivering on another promise -- Canada’s first truly Universal Child Care Plan. Brian Jean, Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray – Athabasca, would like to remind parents that their first monthly payments under the new Universal Child Care Plan are being mailed out this week.

“Canada’s New Government is delivering choice, support and spaces through the country’s first Universal Child Care Plan,” said Brian Jean. “Watch your mailbox because the first Universal Child Care Benefit cheques are being mailed this week to parents of every child under six years of age across Canada.”

The Conservative government’s Universal Child Care Plan includes:

• A Universal Child Care Benefit of $1,200 per year paid directly to parents for each child under six, and
• The Child Care Spaces Initiative to support the creation of new child care spaces that meet the real needs of families across Canada.

The Universal Child Care Benefit will be paid to families in monthly installments of $100 for each child under six. It is estimated that 1.6 million families will receive the Universal Child Care Benefit on behalf of a total of 2.1 million children under the age of six.

Beginning in 2007, the Government of Canada will also spend $250 million each year to create up to 25,000 new child care spaces annually.

More than 90 percent of Canadian parents who are already registered for the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) will automatically receive the Universal Child Care Benefit cheques. Parents who do not receive the CCTB can register to receive the $1,200 per year Universal child Care Benefit by visiting www.universalchildcare.ca or by calling Brian Jean’s constituency office at 780-743-2201. Parents who register after July 2006 will be eligible to receive retroactive payments for up to 11 months.

“For too long, Canadian families have been given vague promises of a national child care plan” Jean said. “Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised a plan to provide parents with choice through direct child care support for their children under age six, and today Canada’s New Government is delivering on that promise.”