Child careless

CUPE points out that as comical as it is to describe the Libs' child-care promises as "doubling" the current commitment when it really reflects a decline in funding, the bigger issue is the Libs' complete lack of attention to the real cost of child care:

Today the Liberals say they will create 625,000 new spaces ($1,600 per space). In 2004, the Liberals estimated they would create 100,000 new child care spaces at about $9,000 per space, which is closer to the real cost. How the Liberals would create 625,000 new spaces with less money on the table doesn't add up, said Moist.

Plenty of bloggers have rightly slammed the Cons for claiming that they can provide a meaningful child care allowance for the cost of bus fare. But it's not really any better to allocate only the same woefully inadequate amount of money toward creating a public system, with the result being some combination of poor quality care or added burden on the provinces. And that leaves just one major federal party with a chance to propose a child-care system that'll actually work.