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Social Development Minister Diane Finley is dousing hopes that provincial child-care deals will be extended past March 31, 2007.
"We're honouring the financial commitments that were made to three provinces, and we're extending those benefits to the other seven provinces even though they didn't have funding arrangements," Finley said Thursday in an interview.
"And we're doing that for the whole 2006/2007 budget year. So that will give the provinces time to transition."
However, she gave no indication that the new Conservative government will extend federal help after that.
There's nothing to prevent provinces from continuing daycare programs without Ottawa's support, Finley added.
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The Liberals have signalled that the minority Conservatives must be prepared to compromise on a long-awaited program on which many parents are counting.
Finley says her party is determined to act on one of its major campaign themes, what it called "choice in child care."
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Child-care advocates say the paltry sum covers a fraction of most families' needs.
Finley countered that daycare "institutions" often aren't available in rural areas or are too inflexible to offer night or part-time care.
"It's full-time or nothing. We're actually encouraging the parents to go back to work and to leave their kids at a time when it's important to spend as much time as possible with them, and when those parents want to spend the time with their children.
"There have been many studies that show that the best people to raise children are the parents."
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Monica Lysack, executive director of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, said most families don't have the option of a stay-at-home parent.
"The reality is, families need support to care for their children. . . And women should not be penalized for contributing to the Canadian economy."
Especially disturbing is how provinces will be left holding the bag for deals they negotiated in good faith, Lysack said.
"The provinces get double-whammied here. They rolled out services they'll no longer get funding for, so they're going to have to pick up the cost or cut them. Either way, the citizens lose."
- reprinted from the Canadian Press