Prime Minister Stephen Harper is planning on reneging on signed federal government agreements to work with the provinces to deliver child care programs. Instead, he’ll cut parents a cheque.
Others have pointed out that this would be a colossally stupid approach to, say, public health care or national defence. So we can probably expect an announcement broadening the initiative to health care and national defence next week.
Meanwhile, the Child Care Advocacy Association hopes to mobilize Canadians to stop the plan. They’ve created an online petition you can sign, an alert network you can join, and a flyer (PDF) you can print and post.
Can it be done? This issue speaks strongly to the Conservatives’ ideological base. But the PMO wants to broaden that base enough to win them a majority next election, and child care is increasingly salient to Canadian families.
And if Paul Martin – who spent years disowning his child care promise as unaffordable while he slashed corporate taxes more and more deeply – could finally be persuaded to make good on it, then anything is possible.
