On declawing

While poor Ontario families are left in doubt as to whether or not their child-care payments will lead to losses in other benefits, their Saskatchewan counterparts at least won't have that added to their concerns:

The Saskatchewan government has decided it will not claw back child-care money from the province's poorest families.

Although the federal government plans to send families $100 a month for each child under six, anti-poverty advocates were worried that money might be counted as income and deducted from welfare cheques.

However, Premier Lorne Calvert now says that won't happen.

"That money will come to them as it comes to every other family with children under six in our province," Calvert said. "It will be for them to use to provide for child care for their family members … there will be no claw-back from their welfare."

Calvert's announcement appears to rule out Saskatchewan taking a lead role in trying to turn Harper's giveaway into actual child-care spaces. But Saskatchewan has at least done the next best thing by continuing with its plans to expand child care while making sure that its poorest residents aren't cut out of the benefits of the Con scheme. Hopefully it won't take too long before parents in other provinces receive at least that much assurance from their provincial governments as well.