The Conservatives will rearrange the Liberals plan to implement a $30 billion national child care program – which the current government said would reduce child care costs to $10 a day per child..Instead, the Tories will convert the Child Care Expense Deduction into a refundable tax credit, covering up to 75% of the cost of child care for lower income families..“This will massively increase the support that lower income families receive and provide more assistance to almost all families,” writes the Conservative platform..“We will also pay out the deduction over the course of the year so that families do not have to pay the cost of child care and then get the money back later.”.Under their plan, the Conservatives claim all families with income under $150,000 will be better off, with the most significant benefit going to families with income under $50,000, and “the biggest boost will be to low and middle-income families.”.The examples set forth in the platform:.A family with an income of $30,000 can today claim a maximum of $1,200. The Conservatives say they will raise that number to $6,000.A family with an income of $50,000 can today claim a maximum of $1,200. The Conservative plan will raise the amount up to $5,200.A family with an income of $80,000 can today claim a maximum of $1,200. Under the Conservative plan they will receive up to $4,800.A family with an income of $120,000 can today claim a maximum of $1,640. Under the Conservatives, $4,560..The platform also sets forth plans to improve maternity and parental leave programs by allowing those on such leave to earn up to $1,000 per month, as well as expanding the Canada Child Benefit by allowing benefits to begin at the seventh month of pregnancy as opposed to childbirth..The Conservatives also included a new “National Adoption Strategy” including an awareness campaign to “promote adoption and ensure equal access to adoption for all children,” which includes:.Supporting international adoption by working with other countries to ease the adoption process.Creating an EI benefit for adoptive parents, modelled on EI maternity benefits.Increasing the maximum a parent can claim under the Adoption Expense Tax Credit from $15,000 to $20,000 and making the credit refundable..Reid Small is a BC correspondent for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
