What is in Budget 2022 for Families?

Supporting Early Learning and Child Care

In Budget 2021, the federal government made a historic and transformative investment of $30 billion over five years.

Child care is not just a social policy but also an economic policy. Affordable, high-quality child care will grow our economy, allow more women to enter the workforce, and help give every Canadian child the best start in life.

The federal government reached agreements with all 13 provinces and territories in less than a year. As a result, by the end of 2022, Canadian families will have seen their child care fees reduced by an average of 50 percent. By 2025-26, it will mean an average childcare fee of $10-a-day for all regulated childcare spaces across Canada.

BC is expected to cut childcare costs in half by the end of this year, amounting to an average saving per child of $6000 by the end of this year.

• In response to requests from provinces and territories and to support the implementation of the Canada-wide early learning and child care system, Budget 2022 proposes to provide $625 million over four years, beginning in 2023-24, to Employment and Social Development Canada for an Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.

The funding will enable provinces and territories to make additional child care investments, including building new facilities.

Dental Care for Canadians

Seeing a dentist is vital for our health but can be expensive. A third of Canadians do not have dental insurance, and in 2018, more than one in five Canadians reported avoiding dental care because of the cost.

• Budget 2022 proposes to provide funding of $5.3 billion over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $1.7 billion ongoing, to Health Canada to provide dental care for Canadians.
• This will start with under 12-year-olds this year.
• Expand to under 18-year-olds, seniors, and persons living with a disability in 2023.
• Be fully implemented by 2025. The program would be restricted to families with an income of less than $90,000 annually, with no co-pays for those under $70,000.

To read the Budget 2022: speech or to review the budget documents, please visit: https://www.budget.gc.ca/