Much to learn from Quebec’s daycare model: Winnipeg MP

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2020 (1954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A Winnipeg MP says Manitoba could learn from Quebec’s daycare model, which has much less focus on the private sector than the Pallister government’s approach.

“When you look for models across the country that have proven effective over time, the Quebec model stands out,” Jim Carr, who represents Winnipeg South Centre, told the Free Press.

“I think all of us in other provinces should look at best practices, and Quebec is the best practice.”

On Monday, the Trudeau government tabled its fall economic update, the closest thing to a budget since spring 2019. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged to create a secretariat to figure out how to implement a national child-care strategy, to be unveiled next spring, and pointed to Quebec’s model.

Like Manitoba, Quebec caps child-care fees, but also operates centres for one-third of children and provides more in grants and salaries.

The Pallister government has instead introduced a tax credit for companies that provide daycare, wagering that private operators will help fill the gaps while keeping costs low.

A 2019 Statistics Canada survey found 52 per cent of Manitoba parents struggle to access spots, the highest rate in Canada.

“It’s not going to be equally applicable across the country, but I think there’s much to be learned from that (Quebec) example,” said Carr, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special adviser for the Prairies.

“Canadians, especially during times of distress caused by this pandemic… want to see that all levels of government are co-operating.”

Meanwhile, Carr said new measures unveiled Monday for the arts and culture sectors should prop up numerous Manitoba institutions, such as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, for which Carr has played the oboe.

More immediately, Carr expects a new promise of $1 billion for personal-care homes across Canada will help stem the spread of COVID-19 in the city. Half that funding is to be spent by April 1, on the condition that provinces detail their plans to spend it on things such as protective gear, ventilation or wages.

However, provinces must ensure the funding is “allocated on an equal per capita basis,” despite the majority of Manitoba’s care-home deaths occurring in institutions owned by Ontario-based Revera.

Carr did not say whether he’d prefer provinces have more discretion over distribution of the money.

“Our goal is to work with our partners to alleviate the suffering, to learn from the experience and do what’s necessary to alleviate and improve the lives of our elderly citizens,” he said.

The Liberals’ spending plans were greeted by criticism from all sides Monday. The NDP said Trudeau didn’t do enough to tax the rich, while the Conservatives bemoaned the lack of any precise metric to contain the debt.

The Liberals instead say unemployment and hours worked will tell them whether their plan is working — but offered no parameters or caps for either indicator.

Carr said updated measures, such as an expansion to the wage subsidy and a belatedly reformed commercial-rent subsidy, should help prevent local businesses from going under.

“You adjust; you have to have humility,” he said. “I believe that we have done that, and in this new phase of investment we will learn from those (earlier) experiences.”

Carr said he’s constantly on the phone with leaders across Western Canada in his role advising the government, particularly on agricultural issues and a reboot of the fiscal-stabilization program.

St. Boniface-St. Vital MP Dan Vandal, Manitoba’s sole cabinet member, was not available Tuesday for an interview. 

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca