Ken Dryden

[Aboriginal Affairs, February 2nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that the early learning and child care needs of aboriginal children are met is a national priority for all of us. At our recent FPT meeting, the ministers recognized the critical need to engage aboriginal leaders in discussions about the best approaches for aboriginal children and to build on successful initiatives such as aboriginal head start.

Aboriginal children are doing better. More are going to college and university, but many more need to attend in the future. They need to get a good start. Good quality early learning and child care can offer that immensely important boost.

[Social Development, February 1st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the challenge for the government and the country is to create an early learning and child care system across the country. It is to respect what we have, to work with what we have and to make better what we have. That is in the big cities, the small towns and in the various provinces in this country.

[Social Development, February 1st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, right now Canada has a wide mix of services and supports for early learning in child care. As unfortunate and inappropriate as what happened last week, the hon. member knows that sort of thing could happen anywhere.

Across the country right now there are a number of provinces that depend pretty significantly also on the for profit sector. What we need to do with all the provinces and territories is find a way of delivering--

[Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, December 13th, 2004]

moved:

Motion No. 1

That Bill C-15, in Clause 9, be amended by adding after line 24 on page 15 the following:

“(6) All fines received by the Receiver General in respect of the commission of an offence under this Act shall be received for the special purpose of protecting and conserving migratory birds or the environment and credited to the Environmental Damages Fund, an account in the accounts of Canada.”

[Social Development, December 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the way in which Canadians look at important programs like education, health care and child care is that those are things that should be available to all Canadians as a way to improve the development of young children. That is what a national early learning and child care system is about. That is why it exists. That is why we are going ahead the way we are going ahead.

[Social Development, December 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is entirely mistaken. The campaign promise, as reiterated in the Speech from the Throne, is for a national early learning and child care system, according to the principles of quality, universal inclusiveness, accessibility and developmental. There has never been any kind of mention about it being a free system.

[Social Development, December 7th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we want to create a national child care system based on the best principles. We have made a start. We want to pursue the best and most promising ways to create this national system, based on the quad principles. I might add that the best system that exists now in Canada, in Quebec, provides both private and for profit care.

[Question No. 25, December 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, in 1998, the OECD invited Canada, along with a number of other countries, to participate in the first round of reviews under the thematic review of early childhood education and care policy. At that time, the invitation was declined. At a June 2001 conference in Stockholm, the OECD disseminated its comparative report “Starting Strong” highlighting the findings from their first round of reviews. Following this conference, participating Canadian officials representing Human Resources Development Canada, HRDC, Council of Ministers of Education of Canada, CMEC, and Saskatchewan Department of Education recommended that Canada participate in the second round of reviews, based on their shared commitment to children’s issues, including early childhood development. For reviews of this kind, the OECD requests that the host country identify a manageable number of jurisdictions to participate. CMEC approached the provincial-territorial deputy ministers of education and the P.E.I. deputy minister responsible for social services approached all provincial-territorial deputy ministers responsible for social services to determine interest in participating in the review. The Governments of Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba indicated an interest in participating. Remaining provincial-territorial jurisdictions did not wish to be included in the review, but were kept informed on Canada’s participation throughout the review. Those jurisdictions who chose not to participate should be contacted directly for further information on their decision.

The Government of Canada, through HRDC, now Social Development Canada, funded the review at a total cost of $90,896 which covered the cost of the preparation of a background report to support the review, a visit to Canada by the international review team of early childhood education experts and the preparation of the final report by the OECD. The resulting final report “Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Canada” was released publicly on October 25, 2004. Elements of the international review team’s findings on Canada’s ECEC system will be integrated into a broader comparative report by the OECD. The report will include an overview of the countries participating in the second round of the thematic review of early childhood education and care policy as well as updates on those countries who participated in the first round.

[Child Poverty, November 24th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my previous answer, in the last number of years there have been significant efforts made in the area of child poverty, including a dramatically increased national child benefit and the announcement of a very ambitious child care program. We will continue to work in areas that affect child poverty, as other ministers in this government will, and as will the provincial governments.

[Child Poverty, November 24th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the results of the report that the hon. member refers to are disappointing. After six straight years, when the child poverty rates went down, this report says that they have gone up. All of that has been helped in the last few years by a better economy, lower unemployment rates, an increase in the national child benefit, and now new initiatives in terms of child care. However, I and other ministers in the House will continue to work in areas that affect child poverty. I am sure that the provincial governments will do the same.