That is a multi-faceted question and one that is difficult to answer. You mentioned that poverty is systemic, and that is true. Tackling this issue is very complicated. Child care services are just one means of dealing with the crisis.
You stated that we live in a market economy. That is true, but the market does not meet all the needs of citizens. The market has gaps, especially in child care services outside Quebec, an area with which I am very familiar.
Quebec recognized that the market would not deliver high-quality child care services needed by parents. The government had to intervene to acknowledge and tackle this problem. When the problem was acknowledged, the Quebec government introduced measures to deal with it. To date, federal governments have not been able to develop national policies with criteria applicable to provinces other than Quebec. They do not acknowledge the problems and do not know where to start in order to solve them.
The government of my province, New Brunswick, obviously will not tackle this issue without the federal government taking the lead. For example, we immediately think of reducing taxes. However, in New Brunswick, 40% of women and 27% of men do not pay taxes because their income is too low. Such measures will not solve the poverty crisis. Rather, we need to invest in programs that will benefit people. This data is similar across Canada.
When you consider that 38.7% of women, compared to 24.4% of men, in Canada do not pay taxes because their income is too low, it is clear that we must invest in programs that will support these people, not offer them tax cuts that do not meet their needs.