Sure, if you look at current child benefits, let's say the Canada child tax benefit or the new proposed Canada child benefit, what the Canada Revenue Agency uses to calculate entitlement is a measure of income known as “adjusted family net income”.
Basically, if you think of your tax form, it's all the different sources of income that you include when you arrive at the total income, such as earnings, investment income, and social assistance. In that case, they would be included. Then you take away certain deductions. Examples of those deductions would be contributions to registered pension plans, contributions to registered retirement savings plans, child care expenses, and union dues. There's also an adjustment, since the universal child care benefit is currently being paid, that's also taken out. Then you arrive at a measure known as “adjusted family net income”. That's what's used currently for child benefits, and that's what will continue to be used for calculating entitlement to the new Canada child benefit.