Week of July 31 – August 04, 2021

    On July 20, 2006, the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, delivered on the new Conservative Government’s promise to provide Canadian families with choice in child care under the new Universal Child Care Benefit.

    The first cheques under the new program were issued on July 20, 2006, to families all across Canada. The benefit will assist Canadian parents with their child care needs, including child care fees, pre-school programs, or occasional care by friends or neighbours. The program is a new form of direct financial assistance, designed to help Canadian families, as they seek to balance work and family life, by supporting their child care choices through direct financial support. It will be paid to families in monthly instalments of $100 per child under the age of six.

    The Government is also committed to creating new child care spaces to help Canadian families. In order to do this, the Government will work with provincial and territorial governments to ensure that the Child Care Spaces Initiative compliments what is already in place. The Government will also work with business, community, and non-profit organizations to better understand their needs and priorities. The new initiative will result in the creation of up to 25,000 new child care spaces each year, beginning in 2007.

    Approximately 90 per cent of Canadian families will receive the Universal Child Care Benefit automatically, as they are currently registered for the Canada Child Tax Benefit. Families who have not yet applied for the Universal Child Care Benefit can still do so by submitting a completed Canada Child Tax Benefit application to the Canada Revenue Agency. These families will have up to 11 months to apply to obtain retroactive payments from July 2006.

    Application forms for the Canada Child Tax Benefit are available on the Canada Revenue Agency web site at www.cra.arc.gc.ca, by calling 1-800-959-2221, or by visiting a Service Canada Centre. Please feel free to contact either of my Orangeville constituency office (519-941-1832) or my Bolton constituency office (905-857-6080) for more information or assistance.