Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the NDP's obsession against the private sector and profit making. If it were not for people and companies paying taxes, that member and everyone in the House would not have a job. There would not be the money to pay for the House and what we try to do for our country. The NDP needs to get off that topic.
There is a way to address the matter at hand which is how to ensure that children have their basic needs met and how do we ensure there are good outcomes and that we address a wide variety of social problems. There is a body of evidence over 25 years to show that the head start program for kids which basically teaches parents good parenting skills works very well. It enables parents to learn adequate parenting skills. It cuts across socio-economic grounds. It does not affect only the poor or the rich; it is a matter of parenting.
When parents are enabled to have those skills, it reduces youth crime by over 50%, teen pregnancies drop 60%, kids stay in school a lot longer and their education levels go up. Actually for $1 invested a $7 output is received at the end of the day.
Another thing we could do is improve our tax system to make it equitable for parents who stay at home and parents who go to work. If we could stabilize the tax system it would work well.
Would the member find it acceptable to have a compromise where we invest in a targeted day care program for single parents, students, people who do not have very much money but need the day care in combination with an early learning program which ensures that the basic needs of kids are met and parents have good parenting skills? It would cut across socio-economic grounds. Would the member find that to be a better and affordable solution that would enable us to address the wide variety of social problems that I have just spoken about?