Mr. Speaker, in a poll released earlier today 90% of Canadians said they strongly agree with the statement “Canada should have a nationally co-ordinated child care plan”. Eighty-six per cent agree that there can be a publicly funded child care system that makes quality child care available to all Canadians. Clearly Canadians overwhelmingly recognize the importance of a national child care strategy.
It is time that governments caught up with our fellow citizens and put in place the child care architecture that would improve both our prosperity and our quality of life. It would allow parents to improve their education, upgrade their skills and enter the workforce while also improving the development outcomes of our children.
The fact is that Canada is falling behind many OECD countries in the provision of child care and preschool programs. Let us get on with catching up.