With a federal election looming, many Canadians are worried about what will become of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, otherwise known as $10-per-day child care.
Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, has not clarified what will become of Canada’s national child care system under a Conservative federal government. This contrasts with his predecessor, former Conservative leader, Erin O’Toole, who promised to only maintain funding for CWELCC for a year after being elected. After which, the Conservatives would replace the program with a tax credit.
Although we do not know much, what the federal Conservatives have been willing to state publicly in relation to child care should raise red flags for voters who want to ensure the next federal government continues to support CWELCC.
Warning signs Poilievre plans to phase out CWELCC
Perhaps one reason Polievere remains tightlipped about his plans for CWELCC is because they would not be popular with the public. Although some households are frustrated about the slow expansion of subsidized child care spaces to meet rising demand, that does not mean most Canadians want to swap out a national system for tax credits.
In fact, 75% of Canadians think that a Conservative government, if elected, shouldn’t end CWELCC, based on a survey conducted by Abacus Data.
What we do know about Poilievre’s plans for CWELCC is based on vague statements that should raise alarm bells for parents. Notably, when asked if he would maintain CWELCC during a two-day tour of Newfoundland and Labrador, Poilievre diverted, only saying he would give provincial governments and parents the flexibility to “find child care that works for them, at an affordable price.”
The federal Conservative Party’s policy declaration booklet reiterates this commitment to so-called flexibility. It states that the party recognizes “that parents are in the best position to determine the care needs of their children, and that they should be able to do so in an environment that encourages as many options as possible.”
Conservatives have a history of opposing a national child care system
While these statements sound innocuous enough, the federal Conservative party has a history of suggesting they want to provide families with more child care options to justify dismantling support for a national child care system.
In 1985, former Conservative Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney, backed away from expanding public child care. This was after the Abella Royal Commission on Equality in Employment recommended a national child care system. According to Mulroney’s government, a public child care system did not give families enough choice. Instead, Mulroney’s government proposed an enriched Child Care Expense Credit that covered up to 30 percent of a household’s child care expenses with the child care provider of their choice.
The problem is tax credits do not lower the price of child care nor necessarily result in the expansion of licensed high-quality child care spaces. Instead, families can try to use their modest tax savings towards lower-quality, and sometimes less safe, for-profit and unregulated home-based care when licensed care is not available. Tax credits also disadvantage lower-income families who still cannot afford any type of child care, even with the support of the credit.
Over twenty years later, former Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, cancelled former Liberal Prime Minister, Paul Martin’s, fledgling national child care system after winning the 2006 federal election. Under the guise of giving families more choice, Harper replaced Martin’s national child care system with the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB). The UCCB paid out a taxable $100-per-month benefit to all families with young children that households could spend in whatever way they wished.
Unsurprisingly, the UCCB did not help families access or pay for child care. In reality, the UCCB very modestly supported the costs of women’s unpaid caregiving in the home since it did not meaningfully subsidize the costs of any type of child care that could be purchased on the market.
The next federal election is critical
There is good reason to be wary of Poilievre’s intentions towards CWELCC. References to supporting child care ‘flexibility’ have been used as a euphemism by governments, or governments-in-waiting, in the past to indicate their intent to end support for a national child care system.
While Conservatives try to convince Canadians that nothing is better than cash in parents’ pockets, this belies the reality that tax credits and modest universal benefits do not lower the price of child care or build high-quality licensed spaces where they are needed most.
The results of the next federal election will weigh heavily on the future of CWELCC. In the likelihood of a Conservative federal government, parents should not resign themselves to what may feel like the inevitable elimination of $10-per-day child care. Instead, parents and should consider joining activist networks that are advocating to preserve and expand CWELCC, including Parents for Child Care. Together, we can fight to retain this historic welfare program that is needed to support families, gender equity, and children’s development.
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