Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged to see the Globe and Mail newspaper taking a lead role in recognizing that the time parents spend with their new born babies is critical in child development.
The Globe and Mail reports that the International Labour Organization found that while Canada is generous with time off for maternity, the financial compensation is insufficient to permit many working mothers to take enough time to be with their newborns. Canada pays far less than any other industrialized country save the United States.
The growing evidence concerning the importance of a child's first three years is cause for all levels of government and businesses in the private sector to pay closer attention to how much time and choice are built into Canada's programs for parents and their children.
There are a number of ways to expand the options, including turning the child care deduction into a universal child credit which does not discriminate against stay at home parents, and have the private and public sectors increase—