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Results: 91 - 105 of 3210
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-06-03 16:21
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to those who've been helping to shepherd us through the meeting while I was absent. I appreciate your support.
My question relates to the figure the chair just referred to: $2.9 billion. The commitment in the recent budget for the national early learning and child care framework is in excess of $30 billion over the next number of years. Can you just give us some clue as to how the figure of $2.9 billion was arrived at and what goal it's seeking to achieve?
Karen Hall
View Karen Hall Profile
Karen Hall
2021-06-03 16:21
Thank you for the question.
Mr. Chair, within the $30 billion that Mr. Fraser referred to, there is $27.2 billion over five years for provinces and territories. Within that, the $2.9 billion is the first year of that five years of funding. With regard to how the funding was arrived at, I think that is perhaps not a question for me today. I think I'll just leave that there.
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-06-03 16:22
Yes.
In effect, there have been a couple of commitments made by the government in respect of the child care strategy. One is to reduce the cost by a half in the next year, and I'm wondering if this $2.9 billion will get us there or whether there will be additional supports required through the estimates that would obviously have to go through the parliamentary process before we'll be able to see that goal achieved.
Karen Hall
View Karen Hall Profile
Karen Hall
2021-06-03 16:22
Thank you for the question. My Internet connection is a bit choppy, so I'm hoping that you're able to see and hear me.
Mr. Fraser, that's correct. In budget 2021, the budget articulated a number of goals or commitments for child care. Perhaps first among those were commitments related to fee reduction. In the budget, the government outlined that it was providing funding to provinces and territories that would be sufficient to reduce the cost of regulated child care on average by 50% by the end of 2022, and then to reduce the cost to $10 a day by 2025-26.
This statutory appropriation will be part of the funding that will support achieving those objectives, in the short run achieving the 50% reduction by the end of 2022, and then in the longer run the 50% reduction for 2025-26.
View Ed Fast Profile
CPC (BC)
View Ed Fast Profile
2021-06-03 16:24
Mr. Chair, this is more of a comment.
I believe, Ms. Hall, you mentioned that future appropriations would be done through the estimates process to fund the strategy. Is that correct?
View Ed Fast Profile
CPC (BC)
View Ed Fast Profile
2021-06-03 16:24
Yes, the problem is that what we're finding is that the estimates process is woefully inadequate, in that ministers appear and are not prepared to answer even one question when dozens and dozens are raised.
I guess my charge to the Liberal members of our committee, and to you, Ms. Hall, if you could pass this on to the ministers of this government, is that when they appear on estimates, and they have their officials arrayed behind or in front of them, they come prepared to actually answer questions, and not just dodge, skip, jump and hop all over the place, because that's disrespectful. It's a lack of accountability.
I think that's a message that should go back, especially to the finance minister.
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to thank Ms. Hall and her team for their hard work.
My question is around negotiations with provinces and territories. How will that be set up?
Karen Hall
View Karen Hall Profile
Karen Hall
2021-06-03 16:25
Thank you for the question.
The intention is that the federal government will enter into negotiations with provinces and territories at the earliest opportunity to begin to implement the Canada-wide child care system.
I should underline that there is already a foundation that has been laid for those agreements. There are three-year bilateral agreements that were signed in 2017-18 with all provinces and territories, with a unique agreement for Quebec. Those agreements were extended last fiscal year and are actually in the process of being extended again as we speak. We will build on that foundation as we begin negotiations with provinces and territories to begin to implement these commitments that the government has made.
View Julie Dzerowicz Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you.
The Minister of Finance set up a task force on women in the economy. Could you relay what role it plays in informing the government's strategy on child care moving forward?
Karen Hall
View Karen Hall Profile
Karen Hall
2021-06-03 16:26
I can speak a bit about the support for the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. Certainly the Minister of Finance has created the task force for women in the economy, but at this point in time I am not familiar with its work on child care. I will work with my Department of Finance colleagues and undertake to come back to the committee with a written response with more information on that.
What I can tell you is that the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development has had an expert panel on early living and child care data and research for about the past two years, which has studied the evidence base that's in place for early learning and child care. It has also provided other advice related to a Canada-wide child care system.
View Wayne Easter Profile
Lib. (PE)
Thank you.
Ms. Hall, I happened to be around when the negotiations were going on between Ken Dryden and the provinces in 2004-05. Those negotiations are never easy, but we did have an early learning and child care program at the time.
Mr. Fraser.
View Sean Fraser Profile
Lib. (NS)
View Sean Fraser Profile
2021-06-03 16:28
Mr. Chair, I think you were around as a member of Parliament when Ken Dryden won the Conn Smythe Trophy before he won rookie of the year. We can learn from your experience.
Ms. Hall, I want to follow up on the investment in child care.
The economic argument behind the policy is essentially that the return on investment is greater than the cost of making the investment. There's obviously a social argument as well in terms of equitable participation in the economy, should parents and women, who have been disproportionately impacted by a lack of access to care, choose to access it.
This is a lot of money—nearly $3 billion for the next year. I had an interesting exchange with Nick Leswick, from the Department of Finance, earlier in the study of this bill. He indicated that depending on who you ask, some folks have the view that the revenue for government could be greater than the cost. I think there are few who would argue that the increase in GDP would be less than the cost of making the investment.
I'm curious if you can offer insight on the economic impact of this proposed investment, and whether we should expect to see returns, either through an increased GDP or through increased revenue to government, as a result of more people contributing to the economy and paying taxes.
Karen Hall
View Karen Hall Profile
Karen Hall
2021-06-03 16:29
The budget did outline the economic and fiscal returns on investments in child care and pointed to a range of studies indicating that for every dollar invested in child care, the return can be anywhere from about $1.50 to I think $2.80. There are a range of studies out there. Many are based on the experience in Quebec, but others take a different perspective or are grounded in different work.
These studies look at both the GDP growth and the revenue growth that this translates into. As more affordable child care is provided, there are secondary earners within families who are able to be drawn into the labour force. As child care is less expensive, they are able to make the decision to work, and as a result, increased tax revenues come about. With those, the investments in child care are set off by the return on investment.
View Wayne Easter Profile
Lib. (PE)
I see no further questions on clause 288.
(Clause 288 agreed to on division)
(On clauses 289 and 290)
The Chair: Before you're gone, Ms. Hall, thank you very much.
Results: 91 - 105 of 3210 | Page: 7 of 214

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