Finance Committee on May 26th, 2015

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay.

My final question, then, is on RRIFs.

The budget changes the amount in terms of what is to be withdrawn. This was asked for by many seniors groups, by CARP and others, who said that Canadians are living longer. This is just a reality. My understanding is that those numbers have not changed since 1992. This is reflecting the fact that people are living longer, and also what Mr. Saxton said earlier about how the benefits from their investments have been lower with the lower interest rates. This is obviously dealing with that.

Did the department do a costing in terms of actually completely eliminating any type of mandatory withdrawal from RRIFs?

[Miodrag Jovanovic]

I cannot really comment on speculation on potential future changes like that.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. What are the changes in costs in terms of the changes that are proposed in this budget?

[Miodrag Jovanovic]

Excuse me?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

With respect to this budget bill, what are the changes in terms of the costs that the Finance department has estimated?

[Miodrag Jovanovic]

For the RRIF measure?

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Yes.

[Miodrag Jovanovic]

It is expected to cost $140 million in 2015-16 and a total of $670 million over the fiscal planning period.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Okay. I think I'm going to stop there, because we should probably move on to part 2.

My understanding is that the four officials here with us now will stay for part 2 and we'll have two more from another department join us. Is that correct?

[Trevor McGowan]

We have division 1 of part 2, and the other officials would have division 2 of part 2.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Let's do both divisions together. I would suggest that we do that. We'll have two officials from ESDC. Let's do divisions 1 and 2 of part 2 together.

Again, if someone wants to do a brief overview of part 2, divisions 1 and 2, we'd welcome that. Then we'll go to questions from members.

Mr. McGowan, please.

[Trevor McGowan]

Division 1 of part 2 has three main components. It increases the child care expense deduction by $1,000 to $11,000 for disability tax credit eligible children, to $8,000 for children under seven, and for seven through sixteen to $5,000. It repeals the child tax credit. Last, it introduces the family tax cut credit.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Ms. Hardy, on division 2, please.

[Siobhan Hardy, Director General, Social Policy, Department of Employment and Social Development]

Thank you.

Enhancements to the universal child care benefit are proposed to assist the child care choices of parents or other eligible individuals by providing them with direct financial assistance up to $1,920 for each child under the age of six, and up to $720 for each child six years of age or older but under the age of eighteen.

The amendments to the Universal Child Care Benefit Act from 2006 are being introduced to provide the Minister of Employment and Social Development with the authority to pay parents or other eligible individuals a monthly benefit of $160 for each child under the age of six, and a monthly benefit of $60 for each child six years of age or older but under the age of eighteen.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Rajotte]

Thank you very much. We appreciate that.

We'll go now to Mr. Cullen, please.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I'll start with you, Ms. Hardy, since you just spoke.

Does ESDC keep track or have a sense of what child care costs are across the country, the provincial averages, averages for some of our larger cities?

[Siobhan Hardy]

We monitor. There is a publication available online called “Public Investments in Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada” and you can get some data there. The data comes from the provinces. There is sometimes a lag, but it's not something the federal government monitors. It's something the provinces would provide.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

But it's made available to your department and your department is aware of what the average is in Ontario, comparing that of Toronto with Vancouver.

[Siobhan Hardy]

I would say that at a very high level, or more or less, but it's entirely dependent on the provinces providing the data.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Right.

Does the department do any analysis of how many child care spaces we're hoping will be created as a result of the increase to the UCCB?

[Siobhan Hardy]

No, because that's not the intent of the benefit. It is intended to provide parents with choices, and those choices can range from accessing that kind of care that you just described, or other arrangements that might be made on a private basis.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Sorry, by “that kind of care”, do you mean child care?

[Siobhan Hardy]

Child care, as in a regulated space.

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

The provision of choices means that there is a choice. Within some of our communities, particularly some of the larger cities—I'm thinking of Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto—there is an extraordinarily long wait-list. Is it a choice if there isn't any child care available? Does the department have any opinion with respect to providing a choice that doesn't exist?

[Siobhan Hardy]

The department has no opinion.