NDP forced the Liberals to deliver a National Child Care program for Canadians

As Bill C-35 — the long overdue bill to establish a National Child Care program — reaches the report stage in Parliament today, the NDP Critic for Families, Children and Social Development Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre) issued the following statement:

“Every parent across Canada deserves access to affordable, accessible, high-quality child care; that’s why the NDP forced the Liberals to enshrine this vision into law. This includes long-term federal funding for provinces and Indigenous peoples to deliver child care.

After decades of broken Liberal promises, it took the New Democrats using our power and working alongside child care workers and advocates to finally get closer to establishing a National Child Care program in Canada. The NDP pushed for a program that upholds the right of Indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent on matters concerning their children, supports decent working conditions for child care workers and for more transparency regarding government investments in child care. Once this bill is adopted, the government will have to show that these investments are aimed at improving the availability, accessibility, inclusivity, affordability and quality of child care services for families.

Without the NDP at the table, the Liberals would not have prioritized public and not-for-profit child care providers. Public and not-for-profit daycare means affordable, quality and accessible daycares for families who need them — not for daycares that make profits off the backs of parents.

Left on their own, the Liberals would have delayed the National Child Care program even further. And Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives have opposed affordable child care for Canadians every step of the way.

New Democrats never gave up. We fought to ensure that affordable child care is available for families who need it.

We will never stop fighting to make life better for you and your family.”