Madam Speaker, I think that was a legitimate question. The member from across the floor asked if I know the Conservatives' position. I actually have a sense of what they oppose because they have said that publicly, and I have made reference to that.
The member's former leader, just so he knows, told him that, when he knocks on the door, he should tell his constituents that he does not like the Liberal plan. That was the former leader of the Conservative Party. The current leader has gone around boasting, as I indicated, that the former Harper government cancelled Liberal child care plans in the past. Do I know what the Conservative Party's position is on this, on child care? No, but in fairness, I do not think anyone knows what its policy is on child care. I suspect it has something to do with the trickle-down private sector. I do not know that, but it is my suspicion as they are quick to criticize.
The implementation of what we saw in Quebec has achieved wonders. Think of it in terms of single parents, 90% of whom are women. That is why this is a very strong feminist policy. Think about a single mom who is not able to get into the workforce because of her inability to afford child care. That is a reality. No matter what the Conservative Party may want us to believe, that is an actual reality. There are people who have a difficult time being able to afford child care. With the Province of Quebec coming in with a program that made it affordable, at the end of the day thousands, not hundreds, of women were able to get into the workforce. That is because they were prepared to take a chance in that province.
When I say thousands of women in Quebec, that is a very low estimate on my part. It could go into the tens of thousands, especially when factoring in the number of years. One could ultimately ask what the benefit to the mother or, on the odd occasion, the father, has been of being able to get out of the house, whether to volunteer, work or get additional educational opportunities, all of which could, in all likelihood, create better outcomes in terms of household income. There are tremendous opportunities created for the individual.
Collectively, I would suggest, it is even greater for society. The benefits to the individual are many, but the benefits to society are even greater. With more people participating in the workforce, especially one that continues to grow, that helps all of us in society. There are more resources generating GDP. In other words, the economy benefits. There are literally tens of thousands of jobs out there. We are very dependent on, for example, immigration policies and international workers, because there are so many jobs out there. In many ways there are people in Canada who would like to be able to work, but for a number of reasons, and the financial affordability of child care is one of the primary ones, they are not able to do that.
Let us imagine other families that have one parent working during the day and one working at night because they cannot afford child care. They are losing out on the opportunity of having more quality family time, if I can put it that way.
There are many things in society that would benefit from recognizing the principles we are trying to put in place through this legislation. Having a Canada-wide system with a federal vision would benefit all Canadians. We need to recognize that there is a long-term funding component to the legislation. There is a national advisory council on early learning and child care that would be created. We need to recognize that we would have reporting from the minister to the public with regard to ongoing progress in this area. That shows an ongoing commitment to financing.
Putting this into legislation would make taking it apart even more difficult, in particular for the Conservative Party. At the end of the day, we believe, as the New Democrats, the Bloc members and I believe the Greens do, that providing access, affordability, inclusivity and high-quality child care is in the nation's best interest, the parents' best interest and the child's best interest.
By having this legislation, taking up the framework and continuing to work with provinces, territories and indigenous communities, we would ensure that child care and early learning become a reality for more people. To me, that is what this is all about. We want to ensure accessibility and that we have these opportunities, because by doing that, whether it is the child, the parent or society as a whole, we all collectively and individually benefit.
I hope the Conservative Party will not try to give mixed messages, like saying they kind of like the legislation but will have 150 amendments during committee work.