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Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced a modest tweak to the monthly federal childcare benefit Monday, arguing that this incremental measure is in keeping with his prudent stewardship of Canada's economy.
Speaking at an Ottawa child-play centre, Harper promised that, if re-elected on Oct. 14, a Tory government would enhance the $100-per-month benefit paid out to families for each child under six years of age. In particular, the benefit would be indexed to inflation and tax-free for single parents, at a cost to the federal treasury of about $100 million a year.
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Harper, who plans to release the remainder of his party platform Tuesday, said the relatively minor adjustment to the child benefit fits with his view that, in uncertain economic times, political leaders should be promising only initiatives that are affordable, realistic, and that address real needs with solutions that contribute to job creation and economic growth.
Earlier in the campaign, the New Democratic Party promised to invest nearly $1.5 billion in the first year of a new mandate to create 150,000 daycare spots as part of a national childcare network. The Liberals promised to create 165,000 spaces at a cost of $1.25 billion per year.
Other party leaders have been insisting that their policies are better for Canadian families and the economy than Harper's.
Stephane Dion, who campaigned in Nunavut and Churchill, Man., on Sunday and is in British Columbia on Monday, defended his Green Shift tax proposal as being focused on families.
"This is exactly the kind of situation that we wanted to improve because the more you have kids the more you have energy costs," Dion explained. "It's $350 per kid that we give at the minimum to everyone and, if you are in poverty, it's more than that, much more.'
- reprinted from Canwest News Service