EXCERPTS
One of my biggest shocks as a parent was the realization of how much it would cost to send our kids to daycare. When our oldest daughter turned a year old and my wife went back to work, we started paying around $1,500 each month to send her to the infant room of a nearby child care facility. And while that cost has gone down as she has gotten older, we're paying more overall because we're now paying for both her and our youngest daughter.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that raising children is expensive. Most of us rely on a dual income to pay the bills - but the trade-off, of course, is the need for adequate child care. And with it comes a monthly child-care bill that is so pricey, it might as well be a second mortgage. While we manage to make things work, it's not easy - and it's even harder for those less well-off than ourselves.
I'm not here to endorse one federal political party or another, but the reality remains: the current government has not only failed to take seriously the issue of child-care affordability and availability in Canada; they've actively worked to disparage, undermine and undo efforts and proposals that might actually address the problem. So whether it comes from them or another party, we parents deserve better.
-reprinted from Canada.com