Mr. Speaker, last week's gaffe by the junior finance minister who said that stay at home parents really do not work was just an honest reflection of the government's tax policy which treats at home parents like second class citizens and which, in the words of the C. D. Howe Institute, accords to children the same value as disposable consumer items.
His comments were all too reminiscent of statements made by other Liberal MPs such as the MP for Vancouver Kingsway who said that stay at home parents were “taking the easy way out”, or the member for St. Paul's who said that full time moms were “just elite white women”, or the last Liberal candidate for Calgary West who characterized stay at home parents as “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen”.
These hurtful stereotypes would not be so cruel if they were not reflective of a tax code which penalizes parents that make real economic sacrifices to do what they believe is best for their kids.
Tomorrow we will get a chance to end this discrimination against single income families whose tax bills are 60% to 100% higher than their dual income counterparts. Tomorrow all those Liberal members who profess a commitment to the family will have an opportunity to put themselves on the record.
Will they bend to the whip or will they do what is right? Canadians are watching.