Madam Speaker, I thank the parliamentary secretary for his response but we have different realities.
In another article by Paul Kershaw on the struggles of the next generation, in talking about social policy he indicated:
This reticence is especially evident in our slow national response to a disturbing reality -- that the generation raising young kids today is the first in a long time to struggle with a dramatically lower standard of living than their parents.
Canada allocates just 0.34% of GDP to child care and kindergarten services for children under age six.
That was in 2008 and talked about 38% of children using food banks. He also indicated that Canada has one of the worst records in the OECD countries for child and family poverty.
The member may talk about those rates coming down, but the reality is that a significant number of children and families are still living in poverty in this country.
Again, I come back to my original question. When will the government invest in a high quality, affordable child care program, or is the government's answer to children to just get a job?