Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' annual report on the cost of child care in Canadian cities is out, and it is not good.
Since 2017, child care costs have risen faster than the rate of inflation in 61 Canadian cities, and in some cases the wait-lists for infant care are longer than the nine months it takes to create an infant. Child care is the second-largest expense for families, after paying the rent or mortgage.
It is especially distressing since the solution lies right before us in the province of Quebec, where in all age categories the cost of child care to families living there is less than $200 per month. If we cannot make child care fully accessible by making it free, we can at least know that set-fee child care programs like the ones used in Quebec, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island make child care more affordable for families.
An NDP government will ensure safe, accessible, affordable child care right across Canada, after the next election.