The featured item in Finance Minister Carole Jamessa国际传媒� budget for the coming year was not $10-a-day daycare, touted in the 2017 election and later downplayed by Premier John Horgan.
No, the banner item in Jamessa国际传媒� second full budget was the sa国际传媒淐hild Opportunity Benefit,sa国际传媒� a pumped-up version of the existing sa国际传媒淓arly Childhood Benefitsa国际传媒� that provides provincial tax credits for kids up to age six. When the NDP version starts in 2020, it will continue until age 18.
Itsa国际传媒檚 not chump change. Eligible parents with one child get up to $28,800 over those 18 years. With two kids, it can reach $40,000.
It doesnsa国际传媒檛 start until next year because itsa国际传媒檚 tied in with the Canada Child Benefit, the marquee policy of the Justin Trudeau government. That program was actually started by Stephen Harper, but Trudeau made it his own by clawing back higher-income payments and boosting the low and middle income band.
Itsa国际传媒檚 run by the Canada Revenue Agency, which requires provinces to give a yearsa国际传媒檚 notice of changes. Government strategy is to get poor people connected to the tax system, which for them has turned into a negative income tax or welfare program.
The B.C. version starts to scale back the provincial tax benefit at an income of $25,000. Cue the shock and horror of the poverty industry that thrives in our cities, feeding the standard line to media that no matter how much money is thrown at poverty, itsa国际传媒檚 not enough.
B.C.sa国际传媒檚 income assistance rates are bumped up another $50 a month as well, across disability, single employable and family categories. This adds to the $100 a month Horgan and James added as soon as they were in office, after an unconscionably long time with no welfare increase under the B.C. Liberals.
Another instant media analysis you may have heard is that by embracing this costly child benefit, the NDP are turning their backs on $10-a-day licensed daycare. Not so, as James made clear to reporters. Theysa国际传媒檙e doing both, and more.
She reminded us that $1 billion was put in last yearsa国际传媒檚 budget for daycare. B.C. budgets are rolling three-year plans, so thatsa国际传媒檚 $366 million in the fiscal year starting in March, and $473 million in 2021 as programs expand. This yearsa国际传媒檚 budget adds another $300 million, for a total commitment of $1.3 billion.
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These numbers include the current pilot program for sa国际传媒渦niversalsa国际传媒� daycare, running in 53 selected B.C.communities until spring 2020. B.C. has so many child care programs now itsa国际传媒檚 difficult to keep them sorted out, but Jamessa国际传媒� budget figures also include the addition of 3,800 new daycare spaces and replacing the former sa国际传媒淐hild Care Subsidysa国际传媒� direct to daycares with B.C.sa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淎ffordable Child Care Benefitsa国际传媒� last fall.
That benefit is an increased subsidy to qualifying daycares to lower the fees they charge to parents to $350 a month per child. Itsa国际传媒檚 almost fully subscribed now.
Still with me? The sa国际传媒渦niversal daycaresa国际传媒� pilot is not, strictly speaking, $10-a-day daycare, although some lucky parents are getting it for $200 a month. As the NDP was raising taxes to pay for this nanny-state juggernaut, Horgan waved off questions about his daily repeated $10-a-day campaign speech, saying that was just another slogan copied from the B.C. Federation of Labour.
In fact, the B.C. daycare pilot spaces are sa国际传媒渇reesa国际传媒� to eligible families with pre-tax income less than $45,000. Qualifying families with income up to $111,000 are paying less than $10 a day.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press Media. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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