The forgotten fundamentals

Social programs put money ments can be adjusted retroactively for the directly into the hands of large numbers of current fiscal year through the Canada Canadians whose collective spending can Revenue Agency’s data base, so the increase restart the economic motor. [...] Boosting that the Harper government might consider three geared-to-income programs − the increasing the Universal Child Care Benefit, a Canada Child Tax Benefit, refundable GST so-called $1,200 per child annual payment – credit and Working Income Tax Benefit − whose real value is less that $1,200 because would put additional money into the hands of it is taxed by the federal and provincial/terri- [...] The Canada Child Tax Benefit, by contrast, is a The Canada Child Tax Benefit is our nontaxable program that provides the same largest and most important child benefit. [...] Unfortunately, the prac- for each eligible adult and the first child in tice of the program no longer lives up to its single-parent families and $127 per child for intent. [...] Maximum benefits from the refund- introduced in the 1990s to tighten access to EI able GST credit should be doubled, so that and reduce the amount and duration of this family would receive $968.