On Friday, February 24, 2006, the federal Conservative government announced it has formally notified the provinces it will terminate the federal-provincial child-care agreements.

According to the Conservative federal finance minister, Mr. Flaherty, the Conservative government “has a mandate to scrap the $5-billion in child-care deals with the provinces and replace them with a program that gives parents $1,200 for each child under age six, along with $250-million in tax credits to provide new spaces.”