About 165,000 families who registered to receive the $40-a-day government payment to cover childcare costs during the teachers’ strike should be getting their cheques in the mail this week.
The majority of the remainder should be sent out by the end of the month, reaching families within two weeks, Finance Minister Mike de Jong said. An extra week will be needed to process payments for children in kindergarten.
The government promised parents of public school students, younger than 13, $40 a day to help cover the costs of childcare and learning during the labour dispute. Students missed 13 days of school Sept. 2 -18, which amounts to $520 per child. The payment is not taxable.
Dory Thuot, president of the Sooke Parents’ Education Advisory Council, said she knows of one mother whose cheque was sent to her young child rather than to her. The mom put a posted a light-hearted thank-you note on Facebook, she said.
Almost 230,000 families — about 97 per cent of those eligible — representing 295,000 children, have registered for the program, de Jong said.
Parents can register for the payments at bcparentinfo.ca. Registration must be completed by Jan. 31, 2015.
