Stephen Harper is in Winnipeg this morning but, just like they were yesterday, his war room operatives back in Ottawa were up early releasing a new series of Dion attack ads.
The attack ads were unveiled by Heritage Minister Josee Verner and Conservative candidate Lisa Raitt, who is running, not without some controversy, against Liberal Garth Turner in the southern Ontario riding of Halton. The new ads — which the Conservatives describe as “a public information campaign” say that Dion will eliminate the $100-a-month subsidy paid to the parents of young children.
On Monday, the Liberal campaign denied that they had any plans to eliminate that payment.
But the Tories say the Liberal protests are not credible, that Dion has a hidden agenda when it comes to the subsidy program, known as the Universal Child Care Benefit.
The Conservatives point to this interview published in the Oct. 21, 2006 edition of National Post. Dion is responding to questions from an unnamed interviewer:
Post: What social program would be your top priority?
Dion: Many, but since you have asked for only one, I will play the game: it is the Child Tax Benefit, and increasing it, as I have already discussed. The rate of child poverty in this country is a disgrace and I will not tolerate it.
Post: Would you cancel the Tory daycare plan? What would you replace it with?
Dion: Yes. The Dryden plan was much better. We need child care facilities to provide Canadian parents with real choice. It's a matter of social justice, but also of sound economics: child care facilities are a good way to encourage flexibility and mobility of our workforce, at a time when, often, two parents are working outside the home.
The Conservatives, in the last campaign, promised to set aside $250-million which businesses and other institutions could tap into to build new daycare spaces. The Tories said that initiative would create 125,000 daycare spaces. In fact, that program was a flop and created no spaces.
Instead, the Conservatives transferred that money to the provinces.
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This is rich, Tories trying to claim that they are the defenders of child care funding. Almost as funny as Liberals claiming that they are. The only party that has consistently demanded a national child care program is the New Democrats and thanks to the NDP budget during the Martin govt. much promised money finally flowed.
The problem with the Liberal and NDP plans is that they were geared towards the large urban centres and were not truly universal. In one sense this is a good thing because there is a larger segment of at risk youth in the large urban centres but it is a question of fundamental fairness for all Canadians. Until such time as there is a plan that gives all Canadians access at an affordable cost to both the taxpayers and the parents there should not be “universal” child care.