Tired old Liberal Party brings out same old excuses on childcare

“This is the least attractive part of the Liberal party; they just assume that they are the only choice and that Canadians just have to go along with them in government.” Jack Layton, April 21, 2011

The Liberals are reacting to Tom Mulcair’s plan for affordable childcare the way they know best – complaining about others and talking about themselves.

Here are some actual facts for the Liberal Party to consider:

• A childcare program was promised by the Liberal Party in their 1993 Red Book, then again in 1997, again in 2000 and once again in 2004.
• In April 2005, during the height of the sponsorship scandal, Paul Martin went on television and told Canadians that he planned to call an election by January 14, 2006.
• On 28 November 2005, the Liberals lost a vote in the House of Commons and Paul Martin dissolved Parliament – just 46 days earlier than he had promised he would during his April speech.
• The House of Commons was scheduled to sit on only 19 of those days. Meaning in 19 sitting days he was going to accomplish something two Liberal prime ministers had failed to do during twelve years in power.
• In the election that followed, 70 percent of Canadians voted for parties other than the Liberals.

The NDP didn’t defeat the scandal-plagued Liberals – 70% of Canadians did. It’s absurd for Liberals to now argue – after all the empty promises – that all they needed was 19 more days to deliver on all the things they never did for 13 years.

Even respected Liberal Tom Axworthy called their so-called child-care plan “a death bed repentance.”

And one last fact to keep in mind: Liberal leader Justin Trudeau is refusing to make any commitments of his own on childcare. Canadians deserve better.

Liberals should stop making things up and get on board with Tom Mulcair’s plan for affordable childcare.