Vanessa Kay of Vancouver says while the money is nice, it won’t help her find a daycare facility for her eight-month-old daughter, Evelyn.Rafal Gerszak/The Globe and Mail
The Globe asked families from across Canada for their thoughts on the federal child benefit cheque and whether it will affect their vote come October.
British Columbia
The family: Vanessa Kay, Zachary Brown and their two children Jordan, 3, and Evelyn, eight months.
The riding: Vancouver Quadra, a long-time Liberal riding held by Joyce Murray.
What they will do with the money: Ms. Kay said that, without affordable daycare, her family will put the additional benefit toward daily living expenses. "We'll use the money to continue to try and get by, but it would help a lot more if I had affordable child care," she said.
Ms. Kay calculated the annual benefit for her two children – at $160 each a month – covers less than two months of their yearly child-care costs. But that is assuming her youngest can get a daycare spot. Although she has a space for her three-year-old, Ms. Kay said she is struggling to find a legitimate facility for her daughter when her maternity leave is up.
"It would help us pay for child care if there was any, but there isn't," she said.
What they think of the program: Ms. Kay said she would have preferred the government spent the money on universal child care for families like hers. "As much as I like money, it's not going to really help, because the main problem that my family has is that there are not sufficient child-care spaces," she said. "I have a baby who I need to find child care for, and I can't find a legal, regulated space to put her in. And this [money] doesn't help with that."
Will it change their vote? "No, because I wasn't going to vote for the Conservatives anyway," Ms. Kay said. She added that it did not feel like Christmas when her household received the cheque on Monday. "I find the Christmas thing to be blatant electioneering," she said. "It's not addressing something [daycare] that the government ought to be addressing."
Greater Toronto Area
The family: Mike Jacques, his wife and their two-year-old twins.
The riding: Richmond Hill, a recent Conservative riding held by Costas Menegakis.
What they will do with the money: Mr. Jacques said he and his wife, both high school teachers, are conflicted about what to do with the cash because of the taxes they might have to pay on it. The couple is hesitant to put it toward immediate needs, such as daycare and diapers, for which they might have to pay most back, or to "put it in our RESPs and then have it sheltered from taxes."
The money they received is a fraction of their monthly daycare costs, which amount to more than $2,000. "It's nice to have money in the bank. But what I was wondering is, if it's taxable, are we going to lose out in the long run?" Mr. Jacques said.
What they think of the program: The money is helpful, but he feels what families like his need most is affordable daycare.
"For example, Tom Mulcair is offering to keep this in place, but to start a $15-a-day government daycare, so that might be more beneficial for families," he said.
The timing – so close to the federal election – is giving him pause.
"It's hard not to be cynical about it, but who's not going to take that cheque in their bank account, you know?" he said.
Will it change their vote? "I'm not a Harper supporter, and even receiving this, I appreciate it. It wouldn't change my vote," Mr. Jacques said, adding the program made him question the Tories' motives. "It makes me weary when I start thinking critically about it and hearing that it might not even be all it's cut out to be once the election's over and comes tax time."
Quebec
The family: Marie-Chantal Arcaouette and her three children, who are nine, six and three years old.
The riding: Verchères-Les Patriotes is held by Sana Hassainia, a New Democrat until she became an independent in 2014.
What they will do with the money: The cheque comes at a perfect time for a vacation and back-to-school supplies, said Ms. Arcaouette, who is planning to take her children camping in Quebec's Saguenay region. "It's that bonus that makes you say, 'Well, maybe we can go to a family resort,'" she said. In the long term, it will help with the $8 a day it costs for child care in Quebec. Her youngest is in daycare and her two eldest are in after-school programs, so Ms. Arcaouette, a graphic designer, can pick them up after work.
She received $680 for the three children and expects their father got the same amount because they share custody, although many families reported receiving about $120 each for children of similar ages. Of that amount, she estimates that she will have to pay back more than half in taxes.
What they think about the program: While Ms. Arcaouette feels the timing is perfect for her family's summer plans, she says she sees an attempt to sway voters. "It's a double-edged sword because it's nice to have right now, but it feels political and I'll probably have to pay $400 back," Ms. Arcaouette said.
Will it change their vote: "I'll probably continue to vote for Harper, but not because he gave me money," Ms. Arcaouette said. She feels the benefit was political because of its timing near the federal election as well as when families are going on vacation and preparing for back-to-school costs. "But what the other parties are offering isn't better," she added.