[VioletlightHeron]

Only one party is proposing national standards. But I guess that's because the NDP doesn't believe in offering parents the freedom to choose substandard care.

Obviously the government knows best how to provide superior service. Things really went downhill around here after the government got out of the booze hawking business.

Who's to say that the government needs to run the day-cares in order to establish national standards? Couldn't this be done by enforcing licensing regulations?

That's a good point; even though the provinces are getting the money and are supposed to be running the programs, you can bet Ottawa would be highly involved in all aspects of the program. Given that Quebec's program doesn't have enough spaces to meet demand and the provincial government is paying 82 percent of the real cost and is budgeted at 1.7 billion dollars this year alone, how can 5 billion dollars realistically cover the other 10 provinces cost of building, hiring and training the number of day care workers? The problem, as I see it, is that the Liberal proposal will become a political sacred cow because parents think that they would be getting a good deal for only paying $7 a day, when the hidden cost is much more. Other concerns include the questionable quality of the day care centres and the possibility of long waiting lists.