I should point out something which may not have been brought to your attention: in my view, the current federal tax system actually discourages provinces from doing what Quebec has done.
When parents in Quebec complete their federal tax returns, they get a somewhat smaller tax rebate than parents in the rest of Canada do, because they actually pay less for child care services. They pay the rest of it through their taxes. As a result, every year the federal government takes in $250 million at the expense of Quebec parents who have chosen to go with a public child care system.
If we truly wanted to encourage provinces who wish to establish similar child care systems, would it not be better to make a commitment to reimburse the funding the federal government saves when a public child care system is established? Would that not be better than establishing regulations?