Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Human Resources Development has fumbled the ball on his plan to reform the child care system in Canada.
Various child care programs cost over $8 billion per year, yet many still live in poverty and our courts are filled with charter challenges by families fighting the discriminatory nature of government policy.
My private member's Bill C-247 provides for a straightforward tax deduction per child to any taxpaying parent, regardless of the method of child care chosen or marital status. By empowering people to take more responsibility for themselves, the bill will give them tax free money to do so.
In the social reforms paper the minister addressed day care spaces and flexible work arrangements for parents but said nothing about current taxation inequities, charter challenges or stay at home parenting. "Such a move", he said, "would have been too racy", with which I am sure the member opposite would probably agree. I fail to see what is so racy to the member for Halifax about a tax break for overburdened parents.
It is obvious that someone with a different agenda-