OTTAWA -- Against the backdrop of a nearing federal budget, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says proper child care will be necessary in the post-pandemic economic recovery phase and that it remains a priority for the Liberal Party.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trudeau said heās pleased the issue is finally being viewed as an economic priority.
āWhat weāre seeing is that people have finally understood what the Liberal Party has long known, that child care is not simply a social argument or a social program, itās fundamentally an economic program,ā he said. āGetting more women into the workforce, allowing families to not have to make impossible choices between having another child or staying in the work force ā these are things good for the economy.ā
The Liberal government hinted in November, 2020, during the release of its fall economic statement, that a national child-care plan was in the works and would be detailed in the April 19 budget.
"I say this both as a working mother and as a minister of finance: Canada will not be truly competitive until all Canadian women have access to the affordable child care we need to support our participation in our country's workforce," Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the time, adding that more women left the workforce during the pandemic to take care of their children and many havenāt returned.
According to Statistics Canadaās March job numbers, the unemployment rate for women sat at 6.2 per cent, down from 6.7 per cent the month prior and 7.8 per cent in January. Thereās been a threefold increase of the number of women deemed long-term unemployed, according to a March Royal Bank report.
āAlmost half a million Canadian women who lost their jobs during the pandemic hadnāt returned to work as of January,ā
During the opening night of the Liberal Party convention on Thursday, Freeland ā in conversation with former Liberal cabinet minister Ken Dyrden ā echoed the prime ministerās sentiment, stating COVID-19 has created an opportunity for change.
"I really believe COVID has created a window of political opportunity and maybe an epiphany on the importance of early learning and child care," Freeland said, adding that while a child-care and early learning system, as opposed to program, will take more time and resources to implement, it is the most effective way to proceed.
Speaking virtually at the start of the NDPās convention on Friday, leader Jagmeet Singh said the Liberals need to put words into action ā something he says his party would do if elected.
āItās not enough to just talk about it,ā he said. āWe need to be more than just open to it, we need a concrete commitment.ā
