My rant on childcare policy
We know the Liberals won't allow independent verification of their platform numbers while attacking the Conservative numbers.
They love to attack the Conservative child care allowance.
Then they put out flyers like this - from a reader....
There are roughly 600,000* children in Ontario between 0 and 4 years. The Liberal plan is to create 25,000 spaces by 2008. Currently there are about 125,000 spaces* in Ontario. The Liberal plan will not be subsidizing the cost to the parents of those spaces.
He compares his daycare program to Medicare. Imagine - his solution for Medicare would be to increase hospital spaces by 20% - to total 25% of the patients and then make them still pay for it.
It's not a national program. It's a sound bite and a photo op.
The Conservative policy isn't a national program either - they don't claim it to be one. It's a small government solution to help address an issue that most Canadians agree needs to be addressed - helping parents.
We know that creating a real national daycare program would cost billions more than what either the NDP or Liberals have proposed. It would put more pressure, through increased taxation on the working parent and from societal pressure, to have both parents in the work force. Is that good? Is that bad? I don't know.
I do know that we don't quantify the benefit that a stay at home parent provides to our society. Helping out at our schools, helping the libraries and community centers, and helping to care for elderly parents are just a couple of the things that come to mind.
It doesn't actually matter as no party is proposing such a national program.
I think the Conservative plan is better, realistic, and more honest than either of the other parties are proposing.
They love to attack the Conservative child care allowance.
Then they put out flyers like this - from a reader....
Here is what we got in mail in Oakville from Bonnie Brown under the heading "Investing in Canada's Children & Families":Of course the Liberals want to mislead Canadians. Martin's says every day that he's created the first national social progrum (he says progrum - not program) in a generation.
"Will create up to 625,000 new, high-quality day-care spaces (25,000 in Ontario by 2008)"
"Bottom Line: ELCC establishes safe, regulated facilities; trained, licensed instructors; affordable, high-quality care with learning, available to both working and stay-at-home Canadian parents coast to coast."
Isn't this a joke! 25,000 spaces in the whole of Ontario with 10,000,000 people, but even for that you need to wait 3 years. The other thing is the statement that it is available to "stay-at-home" parents, sure but why would they use it? They are full-time day-care, not part-time or casual spots. Unless the parents are the well-to-dos in Oakville that would otherwise hire a nanny so that the children don't interfere the with shopping and social events.
There are roughly 600,000* children in Ontario between 0 and 4 years. The Liberal plan is to create 25,000 spaces by 2008. Currently there are about 125,000 spaces* in Ontario. The Liberal plan will not be subsidizing the cost to the parents of those spaces.
He compares his daycare program to Medicare. Imagine - his solution for Medicare would be to increase hospital spaces by 20% - to total 25% of the patients and then make them still pay for it.
It's not a national program. It's a sound bite and a photo op.
The Conservative policy isn't a national program either - they don't claim it to be one. It's a small government solution to help address an issue that most Canadians agree needs to be addressed - helping parents.
We know that creating a real national daycare program would cost billions more than what either the NDP or Liberals have proposed. It would put more pressure, through increased taxation on the working parent and from societal pressure, to have both parents in the work force. Is that good? Is that bad? I don't know.
I do know that we don't quantify the benefit that a stay at home parent provides to our society. Helping out at our schools, helping the libraries and community centers, and helping to care for elderly parents are just a couple of the things that come to mind.
It doesn't actually matter as no party is proposing such a national program.
I think the Conservative plan is better, realistic, and more honest than either of the other parties are proposing.
