Human Resources committee  I am ready to respond. First, let me say that I think it's very telling when members of a committee ask questions that are deflecting from the real issues, and so--

Human Resources committee  I'm happy to answer the question, and that is exactly what I'm doing. When we talk about salaries and funding and so on, we're not really getting at the real issue here, and that is that eight out of ten Canadian children don't have access to quality child care. Just to clarify the mandate of our organization--

Human Resources committee  You asked the question.

Human Resources committee  And you also asked about--

Human Resources committee  You prefaced that with a discussion of how much funding our organization has received, and I think there's some clarification required. If you're nervous about hearing the truth, I cannot speak...but I think other members in the room are entitled.

Human Resources committee  Do I have to answer that?

Human Resources committee  Okay.

Human Resources committee  I'm happy to address that. I will address your first comment and answer Monsieur Lessard's question at the same time.

Human Resources committee  It's the same answer.

Human Resources committee  Yes, we're working on that. There is outrage all across the country, and particularly in your home province of British Columbia, where parents are feeling those cuts because government sort of pre-empted any budget announcement and started making cuts. Families are just outraged, and so we're seeing actions all over the province, like none of us who have been working in this field for many years have ever seen before.

Human Resources committee  We need to look no further than Quebec to see the impact that a good, solid child care system can have on women's employability. I'm not sure exactly of the numbers--I could certainly look those up--but the analysis of the impact of the Quebec child care system showed us that they went from having the lowest participation of mothers in the workforce to having a significant increase in a very short period of time.

Human Resources committee  I think it's important to note that overall the $100-a-month payment is actually punitive to working mothers. In other words, the least benefit is derived by two-parent families where both parents are in the workforce. The greatest benefit is reaped by those with a parent who stays at home.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I'm Monica Lysack. I'm the executive director of the Child Care Advocacy Association of the Canada. The CCAAC commends the committee for undertaking this study of critical employability issues. I'm here today to discuss the links between employability and child care, and specifically how child care supports the employability of parents while at the same time helping provide children with the foundations for lifelong health, learning, and skill development.

Human Resources committee  Yes.

Human Resources committee  I had this question about how many child care spaces we've created asked by a member at the committee of finance. It is not our mandate to create child care spaces; it's our job to comment on public policy that influences the development of child care spaces. Following that meeting, when that member suggested outside of the House of Commons that if we changed our position perhaps our organization might be eligible for government funding, I said thanks, but no thanks.