Charest tackles cost of living by pitching Conservatives a child care plan

Conservative leadership candidate Jean Charest is tackling voters' cost-of-living anxieties by proposing new measures to help more families afford child care.

His plan would give money back to families not covered under the new federal deal to reduce the cost of child care. It also pledges more flexibility and tax breaks for families that receive parental leave benefits.

Beyond his pledge to pause the carbon tax, this is Charest's first major policy foray on affordability. His campaign says it's the first in a series of such announcements.

The rising cost of living is already a major campaign theme for one of Charest's main rivals, Pierre Poilievre. Recent polls suggest rising expenses are a major concern for a majority of Canadians.

Charest has applauded the recent child care deals between the federal government and provinces and territories and has said he is committed to keeping those deals in place.

The federal plan would see the average price of a licensed child care spot drop to $10 a day by 2025.

The federal government also hopes to create approximately 250,000 new child care spaces.

Support for the existing deals from a Conservative leadership candidate may not mean much, since a recent agreement between the NDP and the Liberals could keep the Trudeau government in power until 2025.

Charest's plan would address costs borne by families using daycares that are not subsidized, such as unlicensed home daycares.

'Choice' in child care

He's promising a Choice in Childcare Tax Credit, which would replace the existing Child Care Expense Deduction. According to his campaign, the new credit would rebate up to 75 per cent of child care expenses to lower-income families whose children do not use subsidized daycares.

Rebates would be payable monthly, rather than with each tax return.

Charest is also pledging to make the Canada Child Benefit available in the beginning of the second trimester of a pregnancy "to give families a financial cushion to prepare for their growing family," says the campaign's press release.

Charest's campaign says he also would extend the eligibility period for parental leave benefits to two years.

Charest's plan would also cut the federal tax on Employment Insurance benefits during parental leave and eliminate the EI clawback on the first $20,000 of income earned while on parental leave.

Charest's campaign estimates the plan would cost about $1 billion. The campaign also claims the plan would pay for itself through increased tax revenues as more families return to work.

A statement from Poilievre's campaign attacked Charest's approach but didn't didn't say what the Ottawa-area MP's own child care policy would look like.

Poilievre's campaign told CBC News that while he served as Quebec's premier, Charest did not support "choice in child care and discriminated against families that did not use state-based care."

Charest oversaw Quebec's system of not-for-profit, low-fee child care centres while he was premier from 2003 to 2012. 

During that time, he raised the daily cost of not-for-profit care as he tried to control Quebec's spending. He also took measures to encourage the emergence of more privately run daycare spots.

Poilievre undecided on Liberals' child care deals

In its statement, Poilievre's campaign also targets the federal Liberals, saying their decades of pursuing affordable daycare have left parents with "less choice and higher prices."

"Mr. Poilievre will wait to see if the latest promises are any different before announcing his plans to reduce costs and expand choice for all parents," said the statement.

In an interview with Radio-Canada in March, Poilievre was asked if he'd undo the federal child care deal with the provinces and territories.

"We'll see how it works. We've seen no results," he said in French to host Patrice Roy.

Leadership candidate Patrick Brown responded to Charest's proposal by taking a swipe at Poilievre.

"Unlike Pierre Poilievre, I would honour agreements signed with the provinces on affordable daycare, and unlike Justin Trudeau, make sure those daycare spots are actually built out," says a statement from Brown's campaign.

Brown also pledged to "recognize that Canadians need choice" in raising their families.

In his campaign's statement, Brown talks about creating a system of "tax credits and direct contribution" that would value the labour of extended family members who help to raise children. He also promises to help parents working in the gig economy or running small businesses get equal access to parental benefits.

The statement offers no specifics about how he would achieve these goals.

Candidate Leslyn Lewis' campaign did not respond to a request for her policy proposals on child care.

Conservatives will choose their next leader on Sept. 10.