UNICEF ranks Canada among the worst industrialized countries when it comes to investing in families with children under age six. Part of the reason is because there is no organization that routinely reports about family policies in each province as they intersect with federal policies. Federal-provincial-territorial relationships mean that Ottawa is not permitted to report on what the provinces and territories do. And the provinces and territories report only to their own citizens, often in ways that are not comparable to other provinces. The result…
There are no comparable family policy data in this country. The absence of data helps to perpetuate the perception that there is no problem.
The team behind A Canada that Works for All Generations is devoted to remedying the dearth of data. We’ve produced Family Policy Reports — one for each province. Never before have Canadians been able to compare how federal and provincial policies support families with young kids in such a comprehensive way. The reports look at federal and provincial taxation, parental leave, school, child care services, rental subsidies, welfare, along with the cost of visiting a doctor, dentist and pharmacist. They examine how these policies play out for dual-earner couples, one-earner couples and lone-parents, all with various income levels. The reports examine how these various families fair in each province, and relative to comparable families in 19 other OECD countries.
The reports are a must read for all interested in the policy status quo, and where a New Deal for Families could take us.
pkershaw