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Canadians Rejecting Harper Government Child Allowance, Poll Shows |
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Written by Wire Services
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Tuesday, 20 June 2006 |
The results of a poll released today show that Canadians are rejecting Stephen Harper's plan to distribute a $1,200 child allowance to parents with children under six years of age. The Environics poll asked more than 2,000 Canadians their views on child care and the response was clear - 76% of Canadians support a national affordable child care strategy such as the 2004 federal-provincial agreement that was cancelled by the Conservative government.
Monica Lysack, Executive Director of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) says that Canadians are not buying into the Harper government's child-care strategy adding, "They see that this plan isn't going to help them find affordable, quality care for their children." The poll showed that only 35% of Canadians support the government's child allowance plan.
What's most crucial for the minority Conservative government is that many Canadians say that their opposition to the child allowance is strong enough that it is likely to influence their vote in the next federal election. This is even true for one third of Conservative voters, a fact Lysack cautions that Stephen Harper should be very concerned about.
Laurel Rothman National Director of Campaign 2000, a campaign to end child poverty states that Canadians perceive Harper's family allowance plan as nothing more than an effort to "buy them off as cheaply as possible" but without actually solving the problems. Rothman added, "After taxes and the loss of other benefits like the young child supplement, the net benefit will actually be much lower than $1,200 for many Canadians."
In fact, families in the lower middle-income range will take home the least - as little as $301. Families in the highest income bracket will receive the most from Harper's plan, with net benefits of $971. Rothman notes that Campaign 2000 supports an equitable child benefit and funding for a universal child care system. |
