Finance committee  We realize that it's not something that is built overnight. We're calling for $1.5 billion immediately and asking that it be ramped up over the years so that by 2014 it would be at $6 billion per year.

Finance committee  It would be in line with that, but the challenge with what the Liberals had committed to was that there were insufficient accountability measures. We want to make sure those dollars are accountable so that when we arrive at 2014 we are actually seeing that fees have come down, th

Finance committee  What Robert Fairholm has found is that for every dollar invested in child care programs, GDP is increased by $2.30. I'll leave the copy here for your reference.

Finance committee  I just want to emphasize, because I didn't do so earlier, that our association recognizes that Quebec has taken the lead on this file, in terms of early childhood centres and direct program subsidies. Families pay only $7 a day for child care services. Our official position is th

Finance committee  In Canada, child care services can cost on average between $500 and $600 per month per child. In the case of a family with two children, the cost is approximately $12,000 a year. That is on par with a family's housing costs.

Finance committee  Good day. My name is Jody Dallaire. I will be making my presentation in both English and French. Since committee members have received a copy of our submission, I won't get into the specifics. I will however, give you the highlights and conclude by saying a few words about new r

Human Resources committee  Absolutely, we do. MP Minna asked about it. It's called “From Patchwork to Framework”. It establishes benchmarks and timelines over a 15-year period, and I'll be providing that to the committee for your consideration.

Human Resources committee  Yes, it has a cost.

Human Resources committee  Our plan actually costed a universal child care system for all children aged zero to six. It didn't base it on full-time care for all children because, as mentioned, some parents will choose drop-in centres, for stay-at-home parents, and some will choose part-time care. It's base

Human Resources committee  That's a very good question. I live in New Brunswick, which is a very rural province, and we work with an organization called Rural Voices. They've done some amazing creative things. Child care in rural communities does look different, but it is doable. Often you have multi-age

Human Resources committee  That is a multi-faceted question and one that is difficult to answer. You mentioned that poverty is systemic, and that is true. Tackling this issue is very complicated. Child care services are just one means of dealing with the crisis. You stated that we live in a market economy

Human Resources committee  Yes, I have two sons. One is 14. He is out of child care. I have a 10-year-old son as well, yes.

Human Resources committee  Absolutely not. I don't have a problem with that. As for the reason I joined the child care advocacy movement as the volunteer chairperson of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, this is true with many moms I've met in the community: our roles change as our children gr

Human Resources committee  First of all, I will answer the second question. The federal government’s responsibility is to establish national criteria. For example, what are the objectives of a child care system? The government must draft either legislation or criteria for a national policy, which obviousl

Human Resources committee  At the outset, it may wish to invest in creating more spaces; other provinces, where more spaces exist, may wish to focus on accessibility. Nonetheless, this allows for flexibility in the provincial approaches to the problem but there are basic criteria that must be met. With re