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Tens of thousands of Canadian families continue to miss out on the Stephen Harper government's $100-a-month child-care benefit, even as the second instalment of cheques goes out across the country this week.
According to a Human Resources and Social Development Canada press release issued yesterday, almost 1.4-million parents are in the midst of receiving the second round of $100 cheques under the Universal Child Care Benefit, which began last month.
Earlier this summer, the Canada Revenue Agency stated the parents of almost 100,000 children had simply not applied for the benefit and would not get it until they did.
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The government said it planned to launch an advertising campaign to reach parents who continue to be unaware that they must apply for the new benefit.
But yesterday's release stating "more than 90%" of eligible parents are now receiving the benefit suggests that those missing out on the bonus for preschool kids remain close to the 100,000 mark previously cited by the revenue agency.
Spokesmen in Human Resources Minister Diane Finley's office and the department's media relations office could not provide a more detailed explanation of the figures yesterday.
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- reprinted from the Calgary Herald