More child care needed, not benefit cheques, Winnipeg mom says

Parents across the country woke upwith a little more money in their pockets but somethink the $3 billion in federalcashwould've gone a lot further if it were instead usedto createmore child-care spaces in Canada.

The federal government's enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit kicked in across Canada on Monday. Parents and guardians have been receiving $100a month for each child under 6 since2006. As of Monday, that monthly allowance has been boosted to$160 for each kidunder the age of six;to $60 per month for kids aged six to 17 years old.

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But becausethe payment structure changeisretroactive,dating back toJanuary of this year, some parents actually received $520 for eachkidunder the age of six, and$420 for kids between six and 17, on Monday.

Carla Thompson, a Winnipeg mother of two, said she is happy with the extra money, but she'd rather see it go toward creating more daycare spaces.

"Well we take the money and put it into [Registered Education Savings Plans] for our kids," said Thompson. "But realistically,I think it would make more sense to put it into more child-care spaces, because that's probably our biggest stress as parents."

It took almost threeyears to find a daycare in Winnipeg for her two-year-old son, Thompson said.

Jennifer Magierowicz said she, too, appreciates the extra money but would prefer to see it go toward a national plan to create more daycare spots.

"I think that if choices have to be made, looking at quality daycare for children under five ...it's critical for the advancement of our society as Canadians in general," she said. "If we have to have choices ... maybe this wasn't the best one."

Pat Wege, the executive director with the Manitoba Child Care Association, agrees the federal strategy is misguided.

"Some say it could be better used," said Wege. "For example, we have 12,000 kids on a waitlist for a child-care space. Where is the development in child-care facilities?

Wege saidsome parents are also concerned the Conservative government's child benefit is politically motivated.

"It's a lump some payment before a federal election.What is it really intended to do, you knowthe timing is definitely suspicious," said Wege.

All three main parties have released platform points designed to woo families who tend to live in key suburban ridings that could swing the federal election.

On Monday,NDP Leader Tom Mulcair repeated his previous promise to retain the Conservative's child benefit if elected. Mulcairsaid the NDPwould revise the strategy by including a million child-care spaces, which they would provide to parents for $15 a day.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau saidhe would cancel the benefitand replace it with atax-free benefit that's worth more to families making less than $150,000 a year. The Liberals saidthey would pay for the plan by ending benefits for families making more than $200,000 a year.

Manitoba Conservative MPJoyceBatemanhas defendedthe plan.

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper is delivering all of this within a balanced budget and without raising taxes," saidBateman.

The payout on Monday went to about 3.8 million families across Canada.