Understanding Government run Child Care

Let me preface this by saying that I only know as much about the proposals Ken Dryden (the Minister responsible) as what I ahve seen in news reports. So assumptions and opinions that I have may change as more facts about the details of the proposed daycare initiative are revealed.

However, already, I see the “opposition” to this initiative arguing points, that in my view are falsehoods.

One of the major points used by opposition is the notion that this system will somehow limit or negate parents from raising their own children at home.

Greg Staples over at the Western Standard seems to subscribe to this view.

He says while referencing a quote from Ken Dryden:

Here Minister Dryden establishes the link that by raising your own children you are failing your children and short-changing their future. In Liberal ideology you are not as capable of raising your on child as the government is.

I think this is an artificial and false argument.

He quotes Minister Dryden as saying:

We are lagging behind, failing our children, short-changing our future. Despite the great work, despite the studies that show the importance of good early learning, despite the embarrassing international comparisons in child care, we seem in effect, stuck.

I fail to see the link between raising ones own children and failing them. What I see Dryden is saying is that the current conditions that parents must deal with often make it overly difficult for them to provide their children with the best possible care, either at home or at a private daycare, and even if they can provide that care, they often do so at a huge cost to their finances, which affects the long term well being of both them and their children.

Many in the opposition seem to think that this daycare system is being setup because “the government can do a better job of taking care of your kids than you can”.

That’s a total fabrication and is frankly fearmongering(sp?). The government is not imposing daycare on people. It is not requiring anyone to use it or even recommending them to use it. It would simply be there as an alternative to the expense of caring for your child at home, or using a private daycare.

What is clear is that far too many parents are effectively being punished for having children by having to pay daycare rates that are greater than many mortgages. That is unsustainable, and it is leading, through no fault of the parent, to a decline in the ability for children to learn and grow in the best possible environments.

What the opposition seems to fail to recognize is that, for many parents, staying home to care for children simply isn’t an option no matter how many government subsidies they receive. And philosophically, it doesn’t make sense to pay people to stay home when they want to better themselves and provide for their children by returning to school or getting a part/full time job.

Is the opposition suggesting that someone who would rather go back to school or work after their Maternal/Parental leave is somehow a worse parent?

I sure hope not. They won’t get far with that kind of rhetoric.