Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to talk about the importance of affordable child care, not just in my riding but across Canada.
This is related to a question that I raised in the House of Commons around the need for a national, universal, affordable and accessible child care program that is also a quality program to be developed here in Canada.
We have been hearing, for 50 years, from the government that it plans to develop a program for early childhood education that is universal: right across the country. We have not seen the government do that. We keep hearing more and more lofty commitments. The government's secretariat, which they have announced they will spend $20 million on over five years, just does not cut it.
We know that provinces like British Columbia are looking for federal commitments on this front so that we can deliver a child care program not just in British Columbia, but right across Canada.
What I am hearing from small business owners is that they do not need the removal of red tape or lower taxes. Their priorities and needs are for affordable child care and affordable housing. They want to see pharmacare and dental programs to help support their workers and themselves. Costs for private insurance are going through the roof. We know that it saves money when we invest in people. Their priority is a healthy environment, because they are on the ground and they care deeply about their communities.
We saw what it was like under a decade of the Conservatives. They did not prioritize social infrastructure. They did not understand the importance of that for the local economy. We have heard a lot of lip service from the Liberals when it comes to affordable housing. We have seen non-market housing fall in the last 27 years, under the Liberals and Conservatives, from 10% to 3%. In Europe, they are upwards of 30% in most jurisdictions.
When it comes to investing in strong supports, we have also seen strong economies in those areas as a reflection of that. We know that the government is considering a tax cut instead of investing in and opening up child care spaces. We are hearing from stakeholders across the country, including economist Armine Yalnizyan, the Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers. Regarding a federal tax credit, which we know the Liberals are considering, in a Global News report from February 13, she states:
I think it is the path of least resistance, because it means they don’t have to get involved in the quality or the standards of care, but it does not create one more new space that is high quality.
We need the government to actually commit to quality, affordable and accessible child care.
The Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce in my riding has identified it as the number one priority. In Quebec, when they brought in a child care program that was universal, 70,000 women went back to work. The GDP went up 2%.
We know that the majority of job losses have affected women, and that women have been disproportionately affected. If we are truly going to have a recovery, we need to create more spaces for affordable child care. The NDP has been calling for that in our budget submission. We cited the importance this would have to any economic recovery regarding the pandemic and post-pandemic. This is going to be critical for women especially who are participating in the workforce.
We have seen other countries do it, and it has worked. Whether it be in Sweden, Norway or Slovenia, other countries have seen how important it is to have that stability and that infrastructure in place, not just for the economic makeup of their economy, but for their recovery.
The NDP is calling on the government. As the critic for small business and tourism, I want to express how critical this is for our commitment to small business in Canada.