Madam Speaker, there is no question that this particular government has looked after families and people who have children. In fact, we invested $5.9 billion in 2009-10 alone in early learning and child care, the largest investment by a federal government in Canadian history. We actually walk the walk.
The Liberal Party and the hon. member have made promises of all kinds, but have never delivered. They said that with one more term in office, they would have delivered, but they did not. They had 13 years to do it and they failed.
The question he also asked of the minister was with respect to child care, and the minister was quite clear about the differences between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. Our Conservative government believes that families are the foundation of our great country. When it comes to child care, there is no question that there is a clear distinction between the Conservatives and the Liberals.
I know they would like to impose a one-size-fits-all national daycare system. That is what they have been talking about a lot in the last number of days. When it comes to children, they believe government knows best. They do not care what parents want. They do not think parents are capable of making their own decisions when it comes to their children. Our Conservative government could not disagree more with that.
We believe that parents know best when it comes to how to raise their children. That is why our government is providing them with choice in child care. We support all choices, whether for the mom and dad staying at home, institutional daycare, grandparents, or trusted neighbours. What matters is that parents are the ones who choose the child care that works for their families, not big government.
Through the universal child care benefit, our government is providing $100 a month, $1,200 per year, for every child under the age of six. That benefit goes to 1.5 million families on behalf of over two million children every year. Families appreciate that. Just ask any family. People in many small rural communities get thousands of dollars in that regard.
I know the Liberal Party wants tax increases for businesses, but our tax cuts mean that the average family of four has over $3,000 more in its pocket than under the previous government, not to mention our enhancements to the national child benefit, the child tax credit and a number of other initiatives that have put more dollars in parents' pockets.
Our record is clear. Our Conservative government has done more for families than any other government in Canadian history. We take concrete steps, unlike the Liberals who are good on promises but short on delivery. In fact, in every election since 1993, they have promised a national daycare system but have not delivered on it.
Former Liberal deputy prime minister Sheila Copps had this to say about the failed Liberal record on daycare. She stated:
The last [Liberal] agreement saw some provinces rake in millions without creating one day-care space.... The Liberal plan is a cash cow for government while families are cash poor.
That is one Liberal speaking to another Liberal. Even current Liberal MPs do not agree with the Liberal leader's plan for daycare. The Liberal member for Markham—Unionville had this to say:
I am strongly opposed to any new national day care program with the cost running into the tens of billions of dollars. Given economic realities and competing demands on government resources, these are programs we cannot afford.
That was the fact then and is the fact today. I know the Liberals are all for tax hikes and new spending, and that is why the leader called himself a “tax-and-spend, Pearsonian...Liberal”.
He has already said he will have to raise taxes on Canadian families. Families do not need that. They need a government that takes concrete action to put more dollars in their pockets to give them choice with child care, and one that invests in early childhood learning. We have and our record proves it.