We may have escaped a general election this fall, but four ridings are going to the polls November 9 for by-elections. The two Quebec ridings will likely remain BQ, but the other two ridings, one each in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, are in play, largely between the Conservatives and the NDP. The outcomes won’t shift the balance of power in Ottawa, but they could test Harper’s ability to win a majority. And for child, youth, and family advocates, they isolate and juxtapose these two parties’ family policies in a way that’s usually not possible.

In the BC riding of New Westminster-Coquitlam, there are four candidates, but it’s really a two-horse race between NDP Finn Donnelly and Conservative Diana Dilworth. This riding has swung between NDP and Conservative for years, both candidates have been municipal politicians for years, and both work for environmental non-profits. Donnelly, born and raised in the area, is a local hero for twice swimming the length of the Fraser River to bring attention to sustainability issues. Dilworth’s bio notes that, as a single parent of two adult children, she understands the stresses of raising a family. But she also understands business, having worked in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and having run her own business.

In the NS riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley, the contest is largely between NDP Mark Austin and Conservative Scott Armstrong. Former Conservative MP Bill Casey was booted out of caucus for publicly criticizing the 2007 budget, and then won in 2008 as an Independent with 70 percent of the vote. Armstrong scores points as a former Casey aide and a school principal, but in the NDP’s favour, anti-Harper sentiment in this riding is high and NS is typically an NDP stronghold. As well, Austin’s resume is impressive: He’s a wild blueberry farmer and social policy consultant, he has a Master’s in International Law of Human Rights, and he’s taught at Harvard and Mount St. Vincent.

Those are the candidates, but what about the party policies that affect children, youth, and families? The NDP go on at great length about what they’ll do if elected, but the best they can realistically hope for federally is a stronger voice in opposition. Should they have that? What have Harper’s Tories done, or not, for children, youth, and families? According to the Conservative website, they have:

• Reduced the GST from 7% to 5%.
• Provided $1,200 per year, per child under six for parents to spend on child care as they see fit.
• Created tax credits for money spent on transit passes, textbooks, and kids’ sports.

It’s great that the Conservatives have reduced the GST, but in its place they’re pushing the HST. Taxes at the cash register impact families more than individuals because families have higher non-discretionary expenses. Sales taxes hit high-, middle-, and low-income families disproportionately, because 5% takes away a significantly bigger proportion of money of a low or middle income than of a higher income. Not that poverty is ever a good thing, but low-income families will get a break by receiving HST refund cheques periodically, while low-middle-income families won’t qualify, which will increase their tax burden without increasing their income.

(In BC, where the HST is all but a done deal, it is a cornerstone of Donnelly’s campaign; interestingly, Dilworth’s response has been that the HST is provincial and she only wants to discuss federal issues – like the economy. If I weren’t already NDP, the idiocy of that statement alone would lose my vote.)

As for child care, $1,200 per year is only $100 per month toward child care. An average rate for unlicensed group care in BC is $600 per month (under the table, so no tax credit). Licensed care is better and safer, but costs more. For a two-parent family with one decent salary, it may be a no-brainer: one parent stays home for a few years and the $1,200 helps to pay for extras. But for single parents or parents at minimum-wage jobs, $1,200 per year isn’t even a drop in the bucket. Minimum wage is $8.60 per hour in NS and $8 per hour in BC. Another $1,200 per year would not even bring a family living on minimum wage up to the poverty line, never mind providing any real choice regarding child care.

Nothing wrong with tax credits, right? Except why doesn’t the transit credit extend to people who take public transit less than 10 times weekly? Some parents work part-time (maybe to reduce the cost of daycare); why doesn’t the credit extend to them? Why does a tax credit only cover textbooks rather than all books for children and youth? Surely, all forms of reading support learning. And why is it only children’s sports activities that qualify for tax credits? Yes, sports help keep children healthy and theoretically reduce health care costs, but let’s face it: some kids are more artistic than athletic. Dance is just as good for the body as hockey, music can improve school performance in languages and math, some of those taggers might be diverted from vandalism through a visual arts program.

The thing about creating child, youth, and family friendly policy is that it can’t be done piecemeal. It has to be approached in much the same way as creating policy to promote gender equity or environmental sustainability, by looking at every policy through the lens of how it will impact children and families. Harper’s government isn’t doing that. As much as the NDP go on about what they will do when they reach NDP never-never land in Ottawa, they at least try to examine policy through a family-friendly lens.

So the question for child, youth, and family advocates voting in these by-elections is not, “do you want to strengthen or shift the balance of power in Ottawa?” It’s more like, “do you want Stephen Harper to think that he’s doing well enough by Canada’s young people and families? Or do you want to send him a message that if he doesn’t do better, Canadian voters are just going to keep a Tory majority in Ottawa a Tory never-never land?”

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Tags: BC, Conservative Party, government, harper, NDP, nova scotia

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Federal Government, Our Country. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.