Liberal childcare plan: even more beer and popcorn for parents?
Georgia Straight
Sept 17, 2008
By Pieta Woolley

Today, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion announced a new child-care plan. But after reading the press release and calling B.C. spokesperson Brad Zubyk, I still can’t figure out what exactly they’re pitching. As in, I pay $790 per month for four days of child-care per week. Minus the “Harper’s Hundred” child-tax credit. If the Liberals are elected, how will those numbers change?

The press release notes that:

“A new Liberal government will allocate federal funds, increasing over a four-year period to help establish new agreements with the provinces and territories, to create new and improved quality spaces and increase accessibility for families across Canada. At full implementation, the federal investment will climb to $1.25 billion annually.”

And that:

“Today’s announcement is in addition to a commitment that a new Liberal government will maintain the $100-a-month cheques that some families have come to rely on. We will also introduce a new refundable child tax credit worth $350 to families for every child under 18. A new Liberal government will also provide up to $1,225 per year to Canada’s poorest families through a new Guaranteed Family Supplement.”

How will that $1.25 billion filter down? Zubyk couldn’t say, exactly. The $350 tax credit is a once-a-year blip, he said. So it works out to be about $29.16 per month.

So far, the Liberals are promising to save families $29.16 per month, on child-care that can cost in excess of $1,000 per child? And, the $1.25 billion works out to $268.83 per child aged 14 and under, per year, based on the 2006 census. So at best, between the $350 tax credit, the $1,200 credit, and the annual $268.83, we’re looking at a plan that amounts to $1,818.83 per child. And most of that is already provided by the Conservatives!

That won’t make a dent in the $9,480 per year I shell out—and that’s just for four days per week….