Yesterday, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff promised that a Liberal government would create a national child care program:
“I’m aware of the hole this government has dropped us in. But one [thing] that I will not drop under any circumstance is an investment in our kids because I’m absolutely convinced that this [child care] is the game changer that makes us more equal, more fair and more just and gives every kid an equal start.” – Michael Ignatieff, CBC News, 1 February 2009
But the youngest of Mr. Ignatieff’s staff should be able to remind him that the Liberal Party made this exact same promise to their parents 17 years ago:
“A Liberal government, working with the provinces, will implement a realistic and fiscally responsible program to increase the number of child care spaces in Canada. In each year following a year of 3 percent economic growth, a Liberal government will create 50,000 new child care spaces to a total of 150,000.” – Liberal Party of Canada,
The Liberal ‘Red Book’, 1993, p. 38.
History records that the growth targets were achieved, yet the Chretien / Martin Liberals created no new spaces. Instead, they waited 12 years, three majority governments, and seven back-to-back surpluses of over $67 billion before acting on child care in the context of a minority government.
On that, history also records the cynicism of Liberals about their legacy of broken child care promises:
The Liberal government’s national daycare program was “a deathbed repentance.” – former Trudeau aide, Tom Axworthy, Canwest News, 27 March 2006
But that shouldn’t stop Ignatieff from making the same promise again and again.
Now, it seems to me that despite the fact that the Liberals did procrastinate on daycare, it was in fact a done deal as of 2005. There was an agreement with the provinces, and a program was set up.
It also seems to me that it was PM Harper who nuked it with the poisoned carrot on a stick of $100 dollars which is also TAXED back to the feds.
Some were in fact gullible enough to think that was a good thing. I wasn’t.
It also seems to me that there is a LOT of revisionist amnesia going on here…..
So when y’all are slamming the libs, make sure you point that stick at Harper and his right wing anti women religious base. OK? Are we good with that?
seems to me that in 93 the Liberals had a bit of a mess to clean-up…..interesting that the NDP would not be willing to discuss Martin’s national early childcare program that he had negotiated with the provinces and costed out at 5 billion……in one fell opportunistic swoop, the NDP chose Harper instead and his bloated 10 billion dollar daycare programs that produced nothing and helped no one became the daycare of choice for the NDP….by default….how are you enjoying THAT?
So much for the high raod NDP…..you fool no one.