But you know what? As you said, that is what it's about. It's about our most important social institution, and that's family. You recognize that, and that's exactly what we're trying to do as a government, because not all employers are, shall we say, as enlightened as you and your family are.
The family is so important, and that's why, as a government, we've made it such a focus.
One of the very first things we did was bring in the universal child care benefit. In fact, we did it at what was described as warp speed, because it was done within five months. We made sure that families with children under the age of six were getting $100 a month per child in support of their choice of child care, whether it was formalized day care or whether it was mom and dad or granny looking after them. They had the choice, and we respected the choice of families.
Another thing we did was make it easier and faster for foster parents who intend to adopt a foster child to access parental benefits. There used to be a long lag. We knew from studies that the sooner the parent can bond with the foster child, the better off the child is going to be. It gets the relationship off to a good start. So we were pleased to bring in those changes.
We introduced special benefits, including parental leave for the self-employed. They've never had that before. There are some 2.4 million Canadians who can now have access to that if they choose. Again, it goes to the issue of choice. The opportunity is there for them in case they think they may need parental leave. They may need compassionate leave to look after a family member who's critically ill.
We've also recognized the sacrifices our military makes. Quite often they may be on assignment overseas when children are born. They can't just walk away, pack up their guns, go home, and take care of their children. Instead, we've made it possible that instead of having to take their parental leave within 52 weeks, they have 104 weeks. They can satisfy both of their priorities. One is serving their country and the other is supporting their families. That's another big thing.
Of course, another early thing we brought in was a change in eligibility as to who can receive income support while providing compassionate care to someone who is expected to pass away within 26 weeks. It used to be that only certain members of a family were eligible for that. We recognize that today's families are not the traditional families of the fifties. Not everybody lives close by. Not everybody has children to whom they can turn to look after them in their dying days. So we've made it more flexible so that the person who is critically ill can nominate the person they trust to look after their interests in their dying days and have that person supported while they do that.
Quite frankly, it's a pretty impressive record. I'm very proud of it. There are a lot of other things we've done. But Mr. Chair advises me that we're out of time, so I'll have to cut it off there.
Thanks, and thanks again to your family.