Dryden's Grand Vision

The national childcare program was first promised by the Liberals in their 1993 Red Book. Now the plan is finally coming into fruition, with the Liberals pledging more than $5 billion to the program. So far, five provincial governments have signed childcare deals with the federal government. The minister in charge of the program, Social Development Minister Ken Dryden, envisions publicly funded childcare centers opening up across the country. When asked how much he thinks the program will end up costing in the long term, he replies, "You really don't know. In fact, you don't need to know because the future's going to decide it."[1] I did not expect that Dryden would have an answer to such a question, but I never expected him to admit it candidly.

His statement only underscores the deep reservations I already have about the new national childcare program. Considering the huge commitments our federal and provincial governments already have for funding healthcare and education from elementary to post-secondary, one has to wonder if our governments need the financial burden of another expensive social program. As Dryden admits, the costs are unpredictable. Despite this uncertainty, I would still venture a guess. If one looks at the costs of other social programs, such as healthcare in Ontario, whose costs have ballooned to over 40 percent of the provincial budget, or even the childcare program already being run in Quebec at an annual cost $1.5 billion, a logical guess would be that the long term costs will be unpredictably high.

And it is important to think about the long term. After committing to a publicly funded national childcare program, the costs will be immovable. No government in dire financial straits would be able to touch childcare funding when trying to balance the books. Any cut to childcare funding would leave facilities around the the country strapped for cash with no other means to raise revenue, since tuition prices would surely be fixed. (In Quebec's public childcare program, which has been cited by the federal Liberals as an example, tuition is fixed to a mere $7 per day.) So, when money becomes tight, governments will be forced to choose between going into deficit, or -- since revenue for childcare centers would be entirely dependant on government -- drastically lowering the quality of childcare services.

There will be no turning back on this one. The federal government really ought to reconsider before it proceeds with its usual routine of trampling over provincial jurisdiction.



[1] See article from Canada.com