Mr. Speaker, the member opposite would know that one of the challenges we face as a federal government is that when we put new dollars into a program, quite often provinces, and the NDP in Alberta is a fine example, take money out the back door, so we do not end up increasing expenditures on child care. Therefore, we need to sign comprehensive agreements with the provinces before the dollars can roll. We have done that now, which is why this program is going to add, as I said, an additional $7 billion into the day care system over the next few years.
The member opposite cites studies that say the national spending levels should be a certain amount, and then assumes that the federal government should be 100% responsible for it. As we know, under the Constitution, under the service delivery model we have in this country, the $7 billion that we put in, or the 9% that the member references, is only part of the national expenditure. She has identified the federal government's expenditure, but the provinces and cities also contribute to that, which gets us much closer to the amount. The member should calculate that as she does the addition.
However, if the member opposite, and particularly the NDP, were serious about child care, my question to them would be this. Why, when we had a national child care agreement fully funded with all of the provinces, moving towards a universal system of accessible, regulated child care and early learning, would they have defeated the government at the cusp of that coming into existence? If they really cared about children, why would they not have delayed that vote by a matter of two weeks, which is all it would have taken, and we would have had 10 years of solid investment and a solid program across the country?
They put their electoral fortunes ahead of the plight of children, so I will not be lectured to by the New Democrats.