May 14, 2004

Our future put on hold while Liberals search for direction

It’s no wonder Prime Minister Paul Martin has had trouble pinpointing a date to call an election. It seems that day after day someone in the Liberal camp has to apologize for something said a day earlier. Instead of moving forward, the Liberal government is constantly looking backward, cleaning up after money-losing scandals and misinformed ministers. Even the federal Minister of Health, a senior Liberal Cabinet minister, is unclear about the Liberal’s own stand on health care.

Sadly, the Liberal government has lost sight of the priorities of Canadians. We see Mr. Martin and his staff backtracking on statements made on issues like health care and even more recently on the decision to pay for only 60 D-Day war veterans to attend the 60^th anniversary ceremonies in Normandy, France. On the one hand, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson last year spent $5 million taxpayers’ dollars touring abroad with friends on a so-called business relations mission. On the other hand, this government would not honour the soldiers who put their lives on the line for our country by paying for them to visit the very place where so many Canadians paid the ultimate price.

Sometimes the most important issues in our country aren’t immediately obvious.  One of these is the issue of family. While Canadians put no higher value than that placed on their children, the Liberals turn away when it comes to supporting the family unit.

A Statistics Canada report released April 19^th, 2004, proves Canadians are being forced to choose jobs and money over their children. The report stated Canada’s birth rate fell to the lowest level since 1921 when Statistics Canada began keeping such records. Many families are living pay check to pay check already and just can’t afford either the high day care costs or to even take time off work to have a baby.

            The decline in birth rates will send a ripple effect through the Canadian economy for decades to come. Thirty years from now, fewer people will be paying into pension programs, and fewer people will be paying the necessary taxes to keep this nation operating.

            The solution is simple – allow parents to raise their own children. Under current programs, parents are expected and even forced to return to the workforce as soon as their child turns one. While the Liberal government has no problem providing some tax relief to parents who utilize day-care facilities, there is no such assistance to parents who choose to stay at home with their kids.

            Despite the Liberal government’s child-care program funding, the waiting list to get a child into a day care begins even before the child’s birth in some parts of Canada. With the high cost of living, Canadians have to choose a two-person income over a single income with one parent remaining in the home.

            If the federal government would provide families with the option to allow a father or mother to stay at home, the benefits to all Canadians would be astounding.

            No more would we see day care waiting lists.

The workforce would open up as parents choose their children over their jobs. This would allow young adults completing high school or a secondary education to move into their chosen careers sooner, no longer having to work odd jobs while waiting for positions to open up.

Most importantly, our children would be the greatest beneficiaries as they would be raised in their homes by their parents with the traditions and values of their family.

            Parents are often accused of being too busy to have time for their children. Lack of parental involvement is often cited when a child misbehaves, but the government isn’t giving Canadian parents a choice. Parents are expected to work at least a 40-hour week, provide food, clothing and shelter, and also raise their children.  While children should obviously come first, priorities have shifted so much that our children often wind up near the bottom of the list.  Yet without a two-person income, many families can’t afford the food, shelter or clothing necessary to raise their children.

            Canadian families need financial encouragement from the government to allow them to put families first. It’s time to think about the future of our children and the future of our country instead of justifying the mistakes of the day.

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