New measures for young families mean families have up to $7,200 more in their pockets than 2015
BARRIE, ON, March 4, 2020 /CNW/ - Starting a family is a big step in life. That is why the Government of Canada is helping Canadian parents provide the best possible start in life for their children.
Today, at an event hosted by Goodness Me!, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, highlighted the measures the Government is taking to make life more affordable for young Canadian families—from providing more time at home for new parents, to more money to help with the cost of raising children, to helping more Canadians have a place to call home.
The Parental Sharing Benefit gives new parents, including adoptive and same-sex parents, more time to share the responsibility of raising their children. Eligible parents who agree to share benefits are now able to access an additional five weeks of Employment Insurance standard parental benefits, or an additional eight weeks if they choose the extended parental benefit option. This means more flexibility for families.
The tax-free Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is providing nine out of 10 Canadian families with more money every month to help with the cost of raising children compared to the previous system of benefits. For the 2019–20 benefit year, the CCB provides a maximum annual benefit of $6,639 per child under age 6 and $5,602 per child age 6 through 17.
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive will help qualified first-time homebuyers reduce their monthly mortgage payments by up to $286 or $3,432 a year. This will help up to 100,000 families across Canada to buy their first home.
Taken together these programs mean young families have up to $7,200 more in their pockets for their first year than in 2015.
Quote
"Our Government is focused on making life more affordable for middle class families. That is why I'm very proud of the Government's investments in supporting families and helping children get the best possible start in life. Going forward, the Government will continue to work to help deliver a better quality of life for all Canadians."
– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts
- In 2017–18, women represented 84% of all parental benefit claims made, indicating that child care duties continue to fall heavily on mothers.
- To promote greater gender equality at home and in the workplace, the Government of Canada introduced the parental sharing benefit on March 17, 2019. When parents apply for and share parental benefits, they may be eligible for one of the following:
- five extra weeks of parental benefits when choosing the standard option; or
- eight extra weeks of parental benefits when choosing the extended option.
- The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) has had a positive impact on families' incomes, playing a key role in reducing child poverty. There were 334,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2018 than there were in 2015.
- Across Canada between July 2018 and June 2019, nearly 3.7 million families received close to $24 billion in annual CCB payments.
- More families received monthly CCB payments in the first half of the current benefit year than in the same period of any previous CCB benefit years.
- The Government of Canada is currently rolling out the National Housing Strategy—an ambitious 10-year, $55 billion+ plan that will create 125,000 new housing units and remove 530,000 families from housing need, as well as repair and renew more than 300,000 housing units and reduce chronic homelessness by 50%.
Associated Links
Employment Insurance Improvements
Employment Insurance – Information for employers
Canada Child Benefit
Canada Revenue Agency
Canada Child Benefit Statistics - 2018-2019 Benefit Year
National Housing Strategy
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
For media enquiries, please contact: Maya Dura, Senior Special Assistant, Communications Office of the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P., Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, 819-654-7599, [email protected]; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected]
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