Future of work

The authors of this paper look at Canada’s current early learning and childcare policies and suggest three recommendations. First, the existing Child Care Expense Deduction (CCED), which is regressive in nature since it reinforces patriarchal gender roles for parents, should be substituted with a more generous, progressive, frequently paid refundable tax credit. Second, provinces should increase childcare spaces. Third, existing and new federal money for childcare should be merged into one dedicated, permanent transfer to provinces. These recommendations are meant to provide an incremental but aggressive method to ensure that women and families have accessible, affordable childcare.