Human Resources Committee on Oct. 24th, 2006

[Jody Dallaire]

Obviously, it leaves parents no choice. Canada’s Universal Child Care Plan, which I talked about in my presentation, costs $250 million per year which, in fact, is a reduction of $950 million per year if we compare this plan to the $5 billion initiative over five years for children in our province. It is not an affordable choice or an accessible choice. I know that day care centres in New Brunswick told the federal government that, even if there was the money or the initiative to create day care spaces, they were not interested in creating new spaces, because there is not enough money to recruit trained staff and provide quality service. Not only is it a problem of the ability to pay, but also a problem of accessibility. In our province, only one child out of eight has access to a space in a licensed day care centre that meets minimum quality criteria.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chairman, with your permission, would it be possible to ask Mr. Ramsey to provide us with a copy of that study indicating that the mother’s education level has an impact on children?

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Sure. Mr. Ramsey, do you have a copy?

[Charles Ramsey]

We have a copy in the library on our website, which is available in both HTML and PDF formats, but I will send a copy to the clerk of this committee. There are also others. My colleague Sue Folinsbee mentioned earlier that there's a case study of workplace literacy in Manitoba. I think you'd be interested in having a look at that, so we will forward it as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

You could even just send us the link, but either way we'll make sure we get it to the members.

[Jean-Claude D'Amours, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you for giving me a few seconds.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

I gave you a couple of extra minutes actually.

Mr. Lessard is next for five minutes, please.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

I really liked what was said this morning, that when you invest in an adult, you reach a child. In terms of literacy, it is the same principle. When there are poor children, it is usually because there are poor parents. It is even truer for single parents. It is all the same thing. The whole thing has already been discussed in the issue of access to work, and the day care issue is part of it.

I am continuing in the same vein. Let’s talk about day care. The previous government had proposed an embryonic day care program that was similar in part to what is being done in Quebec. The program costs $1.5 billion a year in Quebec. The federal government planned to spend the equivalent of $1.5 billion for all of Canada. That is not much compared to what should be done but nonetheless it established the foundation for a similar program. In Quebec, from 1997 to last year, parents only paid $5 a day per child, which represented significant assistance. Now it is $7 per day. We know the per-child benefits that are distributed currently by the government. One of you said earlier that the benefit should be incorporated into the children’s allowance — tell me if I am wrong — to clearly point out the fact that it is not a benefit for day care centres, but a benefit to assist parents.

Is that opinion shared? Have I properly understood the message from the New Brunswick Child Care Coalition? Is that approach shared by the other stakeholders?

[Jody Dallaire]

The amount of $100 per month is available to all families, whatever their income. The way the program works means that a middle-income family with both parents working receives less money than a family with only one of the two parents working but at a higher salary, which allows the other parent to stay at home. That is not equitable. If it was distributed using the existing system, there would be more money for low-income families. That is the reason for our recommendation.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Is that position shared by the other stakeholders?

[Patricia LeBlanc]

I'd like to say something on behalf of children with disabilities. Day cares generally won't accept children with disabilities, and if they do, they charge extra for them. So I'd like you to keep that in mind when you're doing your child care briefings.

[Brigitte Neumann, Executive Director, Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women]

I'd like to add the matter that children with disabilities--special needs children--benefit particularly from the socialization experience that occurs when they're able to participate with other children in the child care centre.

The other benefit comes to mothers. We have recently had the benefit of some research from the national longitudinal study of children and youth that looked at the impact on a mother's health of mothering a child with disabilities. Without doubt, the lack of support for those mothers and their families reduces substantially the health status of the women in those situations. That's also something we need to keep in mind in order to build better supports in the child care system for children with disabilities and their families.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Are there any other comments?

You have thirty seconds.

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

With respect to the integration of persons with disabilities into the workplace, you spoke earlier of the need for a kind of mentoring that could facilitate access to work.

Can you elaborate a little more on that issue?

[Patricia LeBlanc]

A lot of times women with disabilities feel a little insecure going into a workplace, especially for the first time. Some feel that they may benefit from a coach or a mentor who would be there to answer questions they might have, instead of always having to go to the boss. There might be little things they might not know about the workplace if they've never been in the workforce before; they would be there to coach them through it and see that they know the route the night before and let them try it on their own. A lot of them feel insecure when they go, and a mentoring program would very well help them.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Lessard. That's all the time we have.

I want to ask a question in terms of the equivalency exams. Looking at medicine or pharmacists or any of these medical professions in which there's a tremendous shortage--certainly it's no different when it comes to pharmacists in this country--what kinds of recommendations can we make?

I realize that each separate organization has a board that approves and allows them to move across provinces, and we have issues just allowing cross-provinces jurisdiction when it comes to some skills and some professions. Do you have any recommendations? When we look at equivalency exams, is it the case that these organizations are going to have to realize that the equivalency exams need to be more reasonable? What are your suggestions for us?

[Florence Javier]

I would suggest that if they would only allow us to take the board exam, then we have a greater chance of making it, because the equivalency exam is more on organic chemistry, which is actually not essential to the practice of pharmacy in this present-day world.

You can ask even the licensed pharmacists here in Canada if they should adapt their exams more to the situation we have in the present world.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Are you saying we have board exams that are different from the equivalency exams?

[Florence Javier]

The equivalency exam is more difficult than the board exam.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Mrs. Savoie, do you want to ask a couple of quick questions?

[Denise Savoie, NDP, Victoria, BC]

It's 11:45, so I'll catch up my time. I'm sorry to have to leave, because it's been an excellent presentation on all the fronts.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Dean Allison]

Yes, we'll catch up this afternoon.

Go ahead, Mr. Regan.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

I want to clarify on this question. What you're saying is--

[Yves Lessard, Bloc, Chambly—Borduas, QC]

Usually it is the next-door neighbour who can use it.

[Geoff Regan, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Excuse me, but I would like to clarify something Ms. Javier said.

I think you're saying that rather than having to do the national equivalency exam, you should be able to do the exams that each province requires in order to become a pharmacist. Is that what you're saying, just to be clear?

Are you saying that instead of having to do the national equivalency exam in order to become a pharmacist in this province as an immigrant, you should simply have to pass the exam that other people in the province have to pass to become a pharmacist in Nova Scotia? Is that right?