Child Care Budget - Question Period

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board.

In her budget address, the minister stated that we are expanding child care services, investing $67 million this year, but in fact there hasn't been an expansion at all. The government has invested no new money, when what we need is a universal system of affordable child care in order to achieve an equitable and expanded workforce.

Can the minister confirm that this is, in fact, a status quo budget with no new money for licensed child care?

HON. KAREN CASEY « » : As far as the comment about this being a status quo budget, I think the member should actually look at the increase - a 6.2 per cent increase in health care alone; 2.3 per cent in education alone. Mr. Speaker, that's not status quo.

CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : So, no new funding despite the fact that it's called "new" for licensed child care.

Earlier this month, I asked the minister about women's economic security and at that time she indicated that her department did gender-based analysis of their work; however, when we requested through Freedom of Information the gender-based analyses of budgets, legislations, programs, or policies, we received a letter - and I will table it - saying that no such records exist.

Will the minister table the gender-based analysis that supports this status quo budget for licensed child care?

KAREN CASEY « » : I believe the question about gender-based was based on a comment that was made by the federal government about their using gender-based budgeting for their process.

I indicated that we were not using gender-based budgets, but that we were certainly looking through a gender-based lens on every program and every policy that we implement.