The Canadian government shifted overall spending on child benefits away from lower-income families to middle and upper ones, according to a study done by the Fraser Institute. .“While the federal government often claims child benefits go to Canadian families who need the money the most, the shift in overall spending tells a different story,” said Fraser Institute Executive Vice-president and study co-author Jason Clemens in a Thursday press release. .In 2016 the Canadian government replaced two child benefit programs with the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which provides tax-free payments to families with children under 18 years old. .The study is based on Statistics Canada data and measures shifts in the share of child benefit spending because of this change. Unlike previous analyses, it accounts for the tax-free status of CCB payments. .The study said replacing the two previous programs and the CCB’s tax-free status resulted in the share of total child benefit spending on families with incomes less than $60,000 declining from 42.9% to 29.7%..It went on to say the share of total child benefit spending on families with incomes between $60,000 and $180,000 increased from 49.2% to 66.8%..The share of total child benefit spending on families with incomes greater than $180,000 declined from 7.9% to 3.5%..“At a time when Ottawa is running deficits with no end in sight, the CCB is yet another poorly targeted federal program,” said Clemens. .Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest said in April he would keep in place the childcare policies Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implemented and go further. .READ MORE: Charest would expand Liberals’ child care plan.The Canadian government will be spending $30 billion over five years to lower child care costs to $10 a day and increase the number of affordable spaces. .A Charest government will do more by introducing a choice in childcare tax credit, which would rebate up to 75% of childcare expenses for lower-income families.
