Excerpts from the Budget Plan:
In Budget 2006, Canada's New Government introduced the Universal Child Care Plan, a two-pronged strategy to provide support for families with children. In July 2006, parents began receiving support of $100 per month for every child under age 6, to be used for the priorities identified by parents as they determine how best to balance home, work and other commitments. Recognizing that parents often choose to use child care services, the Government also committed to provide $250 million annually to support the creation of up to 25,000 new spaces beginning in 2007&em;08.
Building on consultations with other governments and service providers, the Government is delivering on this commitment in Budget 2007.
Budget 2007 proposes to provide a 25-per-cent investment tax credit to businesses that create new child care spaces in the workplace to a maximum of $10,000 per space created. It also proposes to provide annual additional funding of $250 million to provinces and territories to support the creation of child care spaces that are responsive to the needs of parents, and are administered in an efficient and accountable manner. This funding will continue to grow over time as a result of the annual 3-per-cent escalator that is part of the renewed CST.
Funding will flow through the CST, beginning in 2008&em;09, upon completion of discussions with provinces and territories on how best to make use of those new investments and to ensure reporting and accountability to Canadians. While these discussions are ongoing and to fully honour the commitment made in Budget 2006, Budget 2007 provides a transition payment to provinces and territories of $250 million for 2007&em;08 to support the child care spaces objective, allocated on an equal per capita basis.
Moreover, Budget 2007 announces the extension of existing funding of $850 million, provided within the CST in support of federal-provincial/territorial arrangements established in 2000 and 2003 for early childhood development and early learning and child care. These federal funding arrangements will be extended to 2013&em;14. These actions will increase support for children through the CST to $1.1 billion in 2008&em;09. This support will grow to almost $1.3 billion by 2013&em;14.