Thank you, Mr. Lobb.
The issue of income splitting and child care is all related to dollars and cents for family decision-making. Some of those families are going to be in poverty and some are not going to be in poverty. As we've discussed, when families are below a certain level, they are not paying taxes to start with. So we need to segment and look at each of those different strata, respective of their needs and their details. For those who are on the cusp and who are paying some income tax, all the expenses that are going to family life are important. Child care is a major expense and is needed for some families. There's no question about that.
Our research has shown that whether from rural or urban, from male perspective or female perspective, from all different demographic areas, if given the opportunity, 82% of people would like to have one of the parents stay home to raise their children. That's not always practical, and that's not always feasible, given economic circumstances or other needs that go along with that family life as well.
One of the things we've looked at is child care from the perspective of every province or every region of the country, and those things remain the same all across the board. In fact, a child care program that is national in scope actually falls down about three or four pegs below what the actual choices are.
The first thing is to have child care run by mom or dad in the home. Second is by a family member. Third is by a neighbourhood person who you perhaps know, who lives down the street. Fourth is the non-profit child care, and fifth is some form of a for-profit child care program. The incentive for people to make that decision is largely based on finances, not on personal choice, so if we can give them the opportunity to have the financial wherewithal to either stay home or raise their children in the manner they would like to, that has been the first choice of those people.