Thank you very much.
Denise, I think your presentation was most informative on an issue that is important to so many Canadians across this country. I can tell you, as the critic for social development and one who is responsible for early learning and child care in terms of the portfolio, we've had a chance to hear from so many advocacy groups across this country and so many Canadian parents and families of the struggle they are facing to have their children in a high-quality program while they are working. I think you perhaps said it best when you said that there are families, both mothers and fathers, who have the opportunity and who choose to stay home with their children, but there are many parents across this country, many single mothers in particular, who do not have a choice and who do not have an option.
In town hall meetings and meetings with some of these advocacy groups and organizations, the one story that we repeatedly hear is that the wait list is years and years. By the time their turn comes up to be able to have the opportunity to enter into a day care, many of these women have had the unfortunate choice of having to stay home and having to struggle to make ends meet, or by the time their wait list number comes up and they have the opportunity to enter day care, these children are then eligible to go to nursery or kindergarten.
In your report you also highlighted the fact that Dr. Fraser Mustard, one of the leading experts in this country, along with many other experts, has highlighted the importance of investing in early learning and child care. I think it was under that premise and the desire of so many Canadian parents and families that the provincial and federal government in 2005 put into place the early learning and child care agreement in cooperation and conjunction with the provinces and territories. There was an investment of over $5 billion over five years to ensure that we would have the creation of child care spaces in this country.
From a realistic perspective there are many individuals around this table and perhaps in this room who have worked for many years on this particular issue. It was with their desire, hard work, and efforts that this early learning agreement was put into place. It wasn't without its share of challenges, but I think it was a significant achievement and a significant milestone for so many people in this country.
In talking to individuals now, there has been a tremendous sense of frustration amongst these parents, families, and advocacy organizations that the agreement was rescinded and instead the $1,200 per year was put into place. As many parents have experienced first hand, this taxable $100 a month has left parents in an unfortunate position because so many of them realize there are no spaces available. You could be paying an individual $5,000 a month or a $1 million a month, as I put it, and if there are no spaces for their children to be able to attend day care, then at the end of the day that money, in many instances to ensure a quality educational day care space, really becomes meaningless to them.
The other challenge that many individuals have found is that when there are spaces available, they don't know how $2 a day is actually going to ensure they receive quality day care.
Perhaps you can elaborate for us from what you have heard how this bill would ensure that parents and families across this country would have access to quality, universal, accessible day care spaces to ensure we do invest in the future and in our children who are going to be the leaders of our nation.