Child care options

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Using this mother as an example wouldn't the Liberal plab benefit her more? There seems to be some pretty strong concenses here that the CP plan benefits stay at home mothers, but from what you wrote, i gather she wants/needs to be working atleast 1 job and wants to keep her kids in daycares so she can do that. Considering that, wouldn't a system that puts much more money towards daycares and ensures that they are of a good standard benefit her family more then only $300 a month to send 3 kids to daycares which may be underfunded and of poor quality?

Thats the biggest unresolved question (for me). The provinces and feds already have programs for parents who need childcare (typically single moms).

It's not clear how either plan affects those programs.

[MarchHare]

the going rate for daycare is more in the $30-35 a day rate, at least here in Ontario.

That's the type of information I was looking for. When daycare costs are normally $30-35/day, how would Harper's plan of giving $100/month help parents? It does very, very little to make daycare more affordable than it is now.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

I see the daycare issue as containing the following 4 issues:

1-Increasing the number of daycare spaces
2-Increasing the quality of the daycares and the early childhood care system
3-Decreasing the out of pocket cost of daycares
4-Providing fair and reasonable support to families who wish to raise children at home

The LIberal plan really is devoid of anything that addresses issue #4, while the Cons program addresses #4 in a half-assed way.
________
AmySquirts cam

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

Just curious

Do small day homes have to meet any regulations? Or can anyone set one up?

my wife runs a day home.

there are no regulations if she is doing it privatly. just as you can have anyone babysit your kid without the govt "licensing" it.

however, for a parent to qualify for a subsidy, the dayhome must be registered with an agency. the agency itself is regulated and the homes with that agency would be subject to regulations and regular inspections.

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

That's the type of information I was looking for. When daycare costs are normally $30-35/day, how would Harper's plan of giving $100/month help parents? It does very, very little to make daycare more affordable than it is now.

its typical of a govt plan to give back some of our money. they come up with systems that pay a fraction of a penny on the dollar and expect it to be some magical elixer.

just like shaving the GST by 1%. wow, if i spend even $1000 a month in consumer spending (i dont), that will save me a wopping $120 PER YEAR. woopee ding dong.

$100 per month for child care expenses is idiotic, what kind of impact does he think that will have ? my wife charges $600 per month for a kid to come to her dayhome, so I dont see how this will have much impact for the parents.

i am more interested in seeing a plan that rewards parents who stay home with their kids. the kids are generally better raised in that enviroment and all the govt does is punish those families who dont farm their kids out.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

That's the type of information I was looking for. When daycare costs are normally $30-35/day, how would Harper's plan of giving $100/month help parents? It does very, very little to make daycare more affordable than it is now.

The same questions can be asked of the Liberal plan. How does Martin's plan help, especially if the same gross dollar figure is to be assumed? Of course, that's a bad assumption, since I'm sure Martin is looking to spend much MUCH more than Harper.

[calculoso]

Originally Posted by Fozzie_DeBear

I see the daycare issue as containing the following 4 issues:

1-Increasing the number of daycare spaces
2-Increasing the quality of the daycares and the early childhood care system
3-Decreasing the out of pocket cost of daycares
4-Providing fair and reasonable support to families who wish to raise children at home

The LIberal plan really is devoid of anything that addresses issue #4, while the Cons program addresses #4 in a half-assed way.

If the Conservatives are addressing #4 is a half-assed way, then the Liberals are addressing #1-3 in a half-assed way as well.

If you believe these are the only 4 issues, then the Conservative approach helps #1 (more demand should equal more spaces), #3 (more money in the pocket works similar to lower out of pocket costs if it's chosen to be spent in that area), and #4. It doesn't solve any of the issues, but I see it as totally unrealistic to totally solve them without totally taking over the whole system which nobody is proposing.



Also, how much money do you expect to be spent on this? A post above mentions the Liberals allocating $7 a day. If you do the math with the Conservative approach, it's $5 a day. Not much of a difference - EXCEPT if you consider the amount of bureaucracy needed in each instance... and the Conservative approach helps out many more people.

[ken0042]

So, for everybody who is asking what impact an extra $100 per month will make; I assume that if you were offered a raise at work that netted you $100 per month you would turn it down?

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So, for everybody who is asking what impact an extra $100 per month will make; I assume that if you were offered a raise at work that netted you $100 per month you would turn it down?

of course not. but that doesnt mean it adds up to much. secondly, its not a net $100, its taxable to the lowest income earner in the house. so its more like $70-$80.

[ken0042]

Will it be taxable? Or I suppose if it can go to the lowest tax earner, let the kid declare it on his income tax. With a gross income of $1200 per year; it will be tax free.

I suppose the question is: are current family allowance cheques (or whatever they are called) taxable?

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I suppose the question is: are current family allowance cheques (or whatever they are called) taxable?

no, but they are indexed based on the taxable income of the family.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

I don't think they are taxable, somewhere on page 2 I have a link to the site
________
Ruslana live

[Eagle Eye]

Geez if they tax the $1200 a month/child you would get, isnt that like being double taxed? I mean the $1200 probably came from taxes in the first place.

Kinda reminds me how they add GST to the price of Gasoline+any other taxes (tax on a tax).

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

Geez if they tax the $1200 a month/child you would get, isnt that like being double taxed? I mean the $1200 probably came from taxes in the first place.

Kinda reminds me how they add GST to the price of Gasoline+any other taxes (tax on a tax).

1200/ month ... that would be awesome!

sadly, its $1200 per year. and you are right otherwise.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Eagle Eye

Geez if they tax the $1200 ................ isnt that like being double taxed?

Which was why I was asking the question originally; as I couldn't see them taxing that money.

[PYroMaNiaC]

[quote=DementedReality] my wife charges $600 per month for a kid to come to her dayhome, so I dont see how this will have much impact for the parents.

Your wife may charge $600.00 dollars, but for a low income family, they can get a subsidy of $500.00. Funnily enough, that leaves $100.00 dollars remaining per child per month. Harper wants to give that back. Perfect.

Also, daycares, day homes, whatever, don't cover shift work. What about those parents that need more flexible care for their children? They have to pay for private care - usually in their own homes. That means extra household expenses as well. Harpers plan allows for lots of flexibility. I love it.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Everyone who likes the CP plan seems to like it because it gives them money to freely use how they see fit. That's great, but what does it have to do with childcare?
Harper might as well say, we won't have any childcare program whatsoever but we will give parents a tax break.

I know it's nice to get/save money, but the childcares of this country face alot of problems that need to be fixed. The CP plan completely ignores that. Not 1 person in this thread has said how the CP plan does anything to address these problems such as substandard care, lack of space, unaffordable etc.
Everyone keeps saying, it's great for stay at home parents!!!!
His plan is to distribute money in the name of childcare, so shouldn't it in some way help parents who send their kids to daycares?

Also, does anyone here have young children in the childcare system? It would be interesting to hear your positions.

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I know it's nice to get/save money, but the childcares of this country face alot of problems that need to be fixed. The CP plan completely ignores that. Not 1 person in this thread has said how the CP plan does anything to address these problems such as substandard care, lack of space, unaffordable etc.

From the Conservative Party website: http://www.conservative.ca/EN/previo...are_allowance/
(emphasis in original)

Details of the Conservative plan:

• We will give all families a new $1200 per year Choice in Child Care Allowance for each child under six, starting in 2006.
• All families will be free to use the new Choice in Child Care Allowance as they see fit. It will let parents choose the child care option that best suits their family’s needs.
• The new Choice in Child Care Allowance will be in addition to the current Canada Child Tax Benefit, the National Child Benefit Supplement and the Childcare Expenses Deduction.
• We will roll in the current $20.25 per month supplement that currently gets clawed back based on child care expenses. The new Choice in Child Care Allowance will not be clawed back from middle income families. Instead, it will be taxed in the hands of the lower income spouse
• In addition, we will help employers and communities create child care spaces in the workplace or through cooperative or community associations by establishing a Community Childcare Investment Program worth $250 million a year.
• Under the Community Childcare Investment Program, employers who create new childcare spaces for their employees, or for the wider community in collaboration with not-for-profit organizations, will be eligible to receive a credit of $10,000 per space. This program will create 25,000 new spaces per year, or 125,000 over the next five years.
• The tax credit will be designed to ensure that small businesses and rural communities will be able to access it as well as larger companies and cities.
• A Conservative government will honour the government’s existing one- year bilateral commitments to provinces for institutional childcare.