Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron Bruce

Expanding Opportunities for Families and Children - Apr 23, 2007

Ontario Child Benefit To Help 600,000 Families And 1.3 Million Children

EXETER – The Ontario Child Benefit introduced in the 2007 Budget will expand opportunity by providing more assistance to children in all low-income families — whether their parents are able to work or not, Minister of Community and Social Services Madeleine Meilleur said today.

“In addition to helping all children in low-income families, the Ontario Child Benefit also means parents would be able to move off social assistance without worrying about losing support for their children,” said Meilleur. “This is an historic investment in our most vulnerable so that they may have every chance to succeed. This is not about making poverty more comfortable. It’s about making opportunity more accessible.”

Ontario’s 2007 Budget will invest an additional $2.1 billion in low-income families with children over the next five years through the Ontario Child Benefit. It will provide low-income families with up to $250 per child this July and grow to a maximum of $1,100 per child by 2011. These reforms would go well beyond ending the deduction of the National Child Benefit Supplement from social assistance, investing four times as much money to help many more children – including some who are not currently on social assistance.

“Children are our most valuable resource," said Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron-Bruce. "The Ontario Child Benefit is a significant investment that will give more children in Ontario the chance to succeed.”

Other measures from the 2007 Budget that will benefit children and families include:

Increasing social assistance rates by another 2 per cent — a total 7 per cent increase since 2003
Raising the minimum wage to $10.25 in 2010
Enhancing child care funding by $25 million in 2007-08, growing to $50 million annually starting in 2008-09
Improving supports for at-risk families with children with an investment of over $5 million.

“Our government is serious about helping all Ontario children get a good start in life and to help low income families break out of the poverty cycle,” said Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers. “It’s the right thing to do for our children and the smart thing to do for our society.”