Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' two tier child care system does not respect the needs of the majority of parents. The Conservative Party program is truly universal. Cash would go to every child and we would financially empower every family. Would the minister explain why he is unwill

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favour of a motion put forward by the Conservative Party of Canada to amend section (k) of the terms of reference for the Gomery commission. I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to an opposition supply day motion. I am pleased becau

Supply  Mr. Speaker, in response to the hon. member's point about any advertising agencies of any political stripe that have been named in the Gomery commission, I do not support any type of corruption at any time. The Conservative Party of Canada is a different party. It stands on its

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I do not recall saying anything pertinent to the question the hon. member just asked. I will return again to the point that if some of the things that we suggested were followed, we would have never ended up in this situation. That is why taxpayers can be assured tha

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. I would like to thank the Minister of Social Development and the Minister of State for Families and Caregivers and their officials for being here tonight at such a late hour to answer our q

Business of Supply  Mr. Chair, it is the government's choice to implement a program that is restrictive and only offers one choice. However, what we have said on this side of the House is we want an equitable program. We support formal day care, but we also support informal day care, at home day car

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the premier of New Brunswick is clearly listening to parents. He has said that he will not sign any day care deal with the Prime Minister unless it supports all choices for parents. However, today we have learned again that the Liberals will not support choice in chi

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Liberal day care plan is a two tier program, money for a few and none for most. I do not know how the minister can justify giving money to some parents and none to others. Why are the Liberals continuing to support a two tier day care program?

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, we learned this morning that the Minister of Social Development is negotiating with the opposition Liberal leader of New Brunswick. The families of New Brunswick and the Premier of New Brunswick have spoken loud and clear. They want choice in child care. The minister

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, let us hope the agreement involves choice. The Moncton Times and Transcript said in its editorial today, “It is inane and short-sighted of the federal government to impose a one-size-fits-all solution on New Brunswick”, and we could not agree more. A gender based a

Federal-Provincial Relations  Mr. Speaker, in the 1996 Speech from the Throne, in response to the Quebec referendum, the Liberal government made the following commitment: The Government will not use its spending power to create new shared-cost programs in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction without th

Social Development  Mr. Speaker, the government has invested billions of dollars in a child care program. This program encroaches on provincial jurisdictions. Yet the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs remains silent on this issue. The provinces have spoken: they want to have a choice. However, t

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his friends have developed the annoying habit of meddling to the tune of billions of dollars in areas under provincial jurisdiction. Now that the Prime Minister has taken over child care in Canada, could he tell us what he intends to do to res

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Social Development has embarked upon a path contrary to the request from the provinces, contrary to the desire of parents, and contrary to the established governing procedure. In fact, this past weekend the minister went so far as to say that institut

Child Care  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is creating a two tier child care system, one tier for those who can find a space in a government run, nine to five day care centre, and another tier for those who are forced to fend for themselves, especially parents who work shifts. This two