Mr. Speaker, after 28 years of broken promises, the Liberal government announced plans to invest $30 billion into a national child care program.
Today, I want to thank organizations such as Child Care Now and the Child Care Coalition of Manitoba for their efforts in this long fight; however, I am not holding my breath. It has been 28 years since the Liberal government promised a national childcare program.
Our party is ready to push the government to finally implement a child care system that must be universally accessible and affordable, and of high quality. It must be publicly and sufficiently funded and publicly managed, and it must provide fair compensation that respects this critical and vital profession.
This system must be tied to national standards developed with those on the front lines who have expertise in the field, including early childhood educators, child care staff, unions and activists. As a former child care educator, I know that children, caregivers and workers deserve nothing less.