Hamilton Spectator

It’s a Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB), that benefits mostly children, out of child care. With the new adjustment to $160 month for children under 6 years old and $60 a month for  children aged 6-17 years, then goes to families and children with no child care outlays.

"The fact that 51 per cent of the money is going to go to people without child-care costs is staggering," said Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. "It confirms what we have always said about the UCCB: love it or hate it, it's modest income support that has nothing to do with child care."

But Toronto father of twins Eitan Grispun said he was "shocked" by the budget watchdog's findings. The $200 a month he and his spouse currently receive through the UCCB barely covers about three days of child care for their 3½-year-old boys who attend Campus Co-op Daycare. The extra $60 per child they will begin receiving every month in July will do little to make daycare more affordable, he said.

"Daycare is so expensive in Toronto and the waiting lists are so long," states New mother Charlotte Genoa, noting the prices in her Parkdale neighborhood.

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