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STATEMENT regarding Federal Budget 2021 Child Care Announcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

19 April, 2020

The child care plan proposed in Budget 2021 is structurally opposed to equity for all families. All families will pay for the plan, but only families who choose or can access the type of care the federal government favours receive the subsidized benefit. While the federal budget speaks of quality care, the budgeted amount and the timeframe are not enough to create a quality system.

Child care is the care of a child no matter who provides the care or where the care takes place. Supporting parents directly is the equitable way to help all families, regardless of the type of care arrangement they use, including caring for their own children. The proposed plan devalues the work  parents and other caregivers do outside of an institutional setting.

All Canadian families would be better off if the federal government:

  • Made child care expenses a refundable tax credit
  • Increased the Canada Child Benefit
  • Extended and improved access to parental leave
  • Provided maximum flexibility for provinces to decide how to use federal child care funds

Families know how to make the choices that work best for them. Federal policy should maximize the flexibility of families to make varied choices across the country, emphasizing respect for these choices and decisions in the arena of caring for children.

– Andrea Mrozek, senior fellow at think tank Cardus

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