Recently, some Brampton Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament - as well as a couple of Regional Councillors - have been lamenting the loss of the former federal Liberal government's so-called "national daycare plan."

Someone listening to these politicians might come to the conclusion that the former Liberal government had put in place a national day care system prior to their election defeat in January. The fact is that the former Liberal government ran around in a frenzy last fall - knowing an election was imminent - signing agreements with the provinces to transfer 5 billion dollars over five years for various programs that included child care.

Sigh. I remember the first election in which the Liberals promised a National Day Care Program - 1993. It's hard not to get nostalgic about such a feel-good promise that was made in each and every election Red Book up to and including this last election in January.

Nonetheless, had it been a program that met the needs of all parents of all children, I would have no problem excusing the late-minute nature of the implementation. That's not the case, though. The fact is that a very small percentage of Canadian families make use of state-run childcare. Statistics Canada tells us that 54 % of families with children under the age of six use some form of child care. (Note that this is children, not families, which means that the percentage of families would be lower.) Of this 54%, only 30% use institutional day care - some of which is funded by government, some not. So, fewer than 16% of children would benefit from the Liberal plan. Not exactly a "national" daycare plan, is it?

Instead, the Conservative government has chosen to give each and every child under 6 years of age $1200 per year. This can be used for any family needs including daycare. For some families, it might even make the difference for a parent who must work full-time being able to afford part-time employment. Undoubtedly, it will give a hand-up to parents who are at home full-time as well as those who rely on family, friends and neighbours for child care. The bottom line is that helping 100% of families is better than helping only those who know how to work the system of government-run, institutional daycare, and can get their children off the waiting list and into a space - before they graduate from high school.

Of course, it will not pay the total cost of full-time daycare, which can sometimes be as high as $1,200 a month. The Conservatives are also working with employers to create 25,000 new daycare spaces each year with a goal of 125,000 in total.

So, instead of lobbying for the small percentage of families who benefit from government-run daycare - while ignoring families who make different choices -- let's ask our local politicians to stop lamenting the daycare spaces that never existed. They should stand up for all families and the child care choices that work for them.