Martin to Subsidize Child Care

June 3, 2004 permalink

Prime Minister Paul Martin, no longer a shoo-in to win the federal election on June 28, 2004, is promising a national child-care program, modeled on Quebec. The report cited here suggests that day-care will be subsidized so that parents will pay $7 per day, instead of the market rate near $30 per day. There is no word on whether day-care operators will resort to the temptation to collect the subsidy by enrolling children under duress. Here is the report from the Globe and Mail.

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Martin lays it on the line with platform launch

By DARREN YOURK, Globe and Mail Update, UPDATED AT 9:27 AM EDT Thursday, Jun 3, 2004

Liberal Leader Paul Martin tried to push the focus of an attack-filled election campaign back toward policy Thursday, unveiling a left-leaning platform that focuses on social program spending.

Speaking in his hometown of Windsor, Ont., Mr. Martin laid out a "forward looking and very responsible" platform that has a price tag of about $40-billion over five years. About $12-billion of the plan is for contingencies, leaving about $26-billion to $28-billion for promises. The largest item will be the $9-billion-plus for health care announced last week.

"This is a country of great opportunity, and our plan is about providing all Canadians with the means to share in those opportunities," Mr. Martin said in prepared comments. "As a people, we know what we can do and we know how to do it - we just want to get on with it. This platform represents what we will deliver as we work to achieve our goals."

The 60-page platform, entitled Moving Canada Forward, includes a five-year, $5-billion major child-care plan -- called the Foundations Program -- which will hold up Quebec's $7-a-day daycare scheme as a model for the rest of the country.

(paragraphs unrelated to child care omitted)