there needs to be a clear understanding that we don't need more corporate childcare services but rather need to adjust the education system so that it eliminates the after school gap, which shouldn't exist. this is a systemic social problem and throwing money at babysitters is a bandaid solution, not a lasting one.

depending on age and jurisdiction, kids get out of school between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, whereas most people get off work between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm, creating a gap of potentially up to four hours that needs to be filled in. there's no comprehensible reason this exists at all.

first, kids should be kept in classes until 4:30 pm, minimum, giving them up to a half hour to get home on the bus before 17:00. second, the schools themselves should offer seamless child care services for kids that have parents that work later than 17:00 or that need to call in on special occasions. 

ken dryden had a great plan to address this, and it's extremely disappointing that the liberals have caved to market pressure in adopting a private sector plan instead. i supported the dryden plan, but this $10/day childcare scheme just seems like a foolish non-solution. there's no reason to have separate childcare and education systems, they should be integrated seamlessly, and it should be run by the provinces.

i don't generally have fiscally conservative instincts, but wasting taxpayer money on babysitters strikes me as an exceedingly poor use of public funds that should be starkly criticized. this is an expensive and foolish approach to a problem that is being caused by school days that are simply too short.