Who Would Ever Have Guessed

[CHIMO]

That the friend of the provinces would be told to shut up and honor a contract.

Harper offers Quebec 'transition' child-care deal

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper is facing a showdown with the premiers over his plan to scrap child-care deals that were years in the making.
The prime minister offered Tuesday to negotiate a “transition period” with Quebec before cutting off related funding to all 10 provinces after March 31, 2007.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether other provinces will get similar offers before the Conservatives snuff the Liberal plan to set up a $5-billion national day-care system.

But leaders in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba said Tuesday they expect the Tories to honour commitments made by the former government.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1139312888273&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News

[Swede]

1. Wow,he's really on a roll.

nt

[hopeisaplace]

2. Where has the Toronto Star been on this issue during the election!

this was a clear cut issue during the campaign..but do you think the
press could help clarify for the public EXACTLY what could happen...umm
..let me answer that...NO! they were too busy covering scandals and money
waste without pointing to the fact that the previous conservative government
left us with an approximate $43 billion dollar deficit. No,No,No, we wouldn't
want the News media to provide USEFUL information for public consumption -
it's more important to dwell on the one point at hand - scandals. Omg. Pathetic.
:sarcasm:

[Telly Savalas]

4. I get most of my news from the Star and I was aware of that.

Also considering most of the Star's readership voted either Liberal or NDP, it's not really appropriate to place the blame at their feet.

[Hand]

3. "Group fears over 7,000 day-care spots could be lost in Tory plan"

The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada says that if the new federal government’s plan is implemented, Nova Scotia could lose an estimated 7,167 funded child-care spaces or about $43 million annually.

"We’re talking about should we have a system or should we not have a (child-care) system," Monica Lysack, the group’s executive director, said last Friday. "There’s a public good that’s being sacrificed here."

On Monday, his first official day as prime minister, Stephen Harper confirmed he will put before Parliament this spring his plan to provide a $1,200 annual taxable allowance for each child under age six. The Conservatives also intend to provide $250 million in tax credits to help employers and non-profit agencies create new spaces.

The child-care funding deals reached between the provinces and the former prime minister, Paul Martin, will be axed. These agreements will be phased out by March 31, 2007, a government representative said Tuesday.

$43 million's a hell of a lot in NS (population under 900,000 at last count). Looks like Harper's already off on the wrong foot. This is a good thing, of course.

link

[Telly Savalas]

5. To add insult to injury...

Harper's plan gives the greatest benefit to affluent families with one stay-at-home parent. The $1200 tax break is credited to the parent with the lower income, thus a family with only one wage earner automatically gets the whole amount.

So a family where one parent makes $100K and the other one stays home will actually get a bigger subsidy than a family where both parents make $30K each.

With any luck, the Bloc, NDP, and Grits will unite on this issue and make sure the child-care plan doesn't get cut. I can't speak for Nova Scotia, but here in Toronto there are a lot of families who need more subsidized child care spaces than my family needs an extra $15 or so a week. Speaking of which, I'm off to go to Sobey's to buy some popcorn. I think the only Beer Store within reasonable walking distance is closed though. :(

[CHIMO]

6. Backed Into A Corner

On one of his first moves. So much for his strength on strategy.

Premiers fight for daycare funding
McGuinty and Charest want deal kept

Harper plans to kill federal agreement

Central Canada's premiers have launched a counterattack against Stephen Harper's plans to kill federal funding for child care after next year.

Quebec has gone even further, saying it has won agreement from the new Prime Minister for negotiations on a child-care arrangement.

McGuinty and Quebec Premier Jean Charest were moving quickly in the wake of Harper's announcement Monday that he would be quickly implementing his party's election promise on daycare.

"Mr. Harper and I talked on the telephone this morning, and we agreed to negotiate on the question of child-care policies," Charest told a news conference at the Quebec Liberal party caucus meeting in St.-Georges-de-Beauce.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1139352620180&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467

So lets see the other premiers pile on to show the big guy something. Just waiting to hear that, although the other premiers haven't singed a deal they were very close to closing the deal.

How come Quebec is treated differently. Just waiting for the other guys to demand the same.

So far.
Appointments without having the pulse of the people. Guess that happens when you surround yourself in a fake environment.

Then trying to do side deals of divide and conquer.