Good morning, Mr. Chairman.
Canadian parents need early learning and child care services to work. Child care yields high social and economic returns by promoting economic stimulus through job creation, facilitating Canada's labour force participation, and increasing government revenues from employment taxes. It's the most healthy child development, and it ensures fathers and mothers can participate in education, job training, and can enter and stay in the workforce. It moves families out of poverty and it builds strong local economies.
In 2006 the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recommended that the government, in conjunction with the provincial and territorial governments, fund a national, accessible, affordable, high-quality, publicly regulated child care system. This system should respect any provincial-territorial child care programs already in effect, recognizing the leadership of the Province of Quebec.
That same year, the Government of Canada terminated the funding agreements on early learning and child care and flipped most of the money intended to build a national child care program into a universal child care benefit, a monthly taxable allowance of up to $100 given to parents of each child under age six. A review of the federal government's own website boasts that the flipped money is used by some parents to subsidize child care expenses but is used by others for vacations, RESPs, clothing, diapers, and recreational activities.
The majority of the $5.9 billion Canada currently spends on early learning and child care is primarily tax measures and unaccountable transfers, not the creation of new and desperately needed services. The consequence? In 2007 there were 3.1 million children aged zero to 12 years of age with a mother in the paid labour force in Canada but barely 857,194 regulated child care spaces. To Canada's shame, the United Nations education fund published a study in December 2008 that rated Canada's provision of early childhood education and child care at the very bottom of 25 developed countries.
UNICEF, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Canadian Labour Congress are just some of the many well-established organizations currently calling on government to take strong leadership in creating a national child care strategy to build accessible, affordable, quality early learning and child care services. In April 2009 the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology released a report called “Early Childhood Education and Care: Next Steps” that calls upon Canada to be a champion for the families of the 21st century and makes four recommendations to make that happen, all of which are supported by the Manitoba Child Care Association.
In addition, the Manitoba Child Care Association recommends that the Government of Canada use its constitutional powers to get back on track and lead the provinces and territories in the development of a system of high-quality, not-for-profit, accessible, affordable, and inclusive early learning and child care services. By 2020, federal support for early learning and child care services should reach 1% of GDP through scheduled increases in annual increments to provinces. Funds should be sustainable, increased annually, and targeted to the provinces and territories that are committed to the development of high-quality early learning and child care services.
The Government of Canada should transfer funds to the provinces and territories that are earmarked for early learning and child care and attach conditions to ensure quality and accountability. In return the provinces must agree to establish high-quality standards, provide direct operating grant funding to not-for-profit services, provide a level of funding that supports competitive wages to the child care workforce, and provide a level of funding that keeps parents' fees affordable. For example, the OECD recommends a 40-40-20 cost sharing: the federal and provincial governments should provide at least 40% each, with a maximum overall contribution from parents of 20%.
Quality early learning and child care programs have been recognized by countries around the world as essential services to support the ongoing learning and healthy development of children and to ensure access to training and labour force attachment of parents. Educated and employed parents can enjoy a stable income, economic security, and the potential for a positive future.
Canada's stagnant birth rate, combined with an aging population, is a land mine that no responsible government should ignore. Business struggles about labour shortages in many sectors now are not likely getting better as long as Canadian birth rates remain below that required for a country to support itself.
In good and bad economic times, Canada needs child care to work. Child care yields high social and economic returns by promoting economic stimulus through job creation, facilitating parents' labour force participation, and increasing government revenues from employment taxes. It promotes healthy child development. It moves families out of poverty. It builds strong local economies. Canada can't work without quality child care.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.