Critique: Liberal Party's Childcare Strategy

Childcare is a controversial area of Canadian policy that became a popular topic of debate in the last federal election. There are very divergent views between Canadians about not only the state of childcare in Canada, but also what the government’s role in childcare should be. This paper will look first at the economic problem created by inadequate childcare. Next, the potential market failures that may arise in the private childcare market will be addressed, helping in part to justify some level of government involvement. The second part of the paper will be devoted to a critical assessment of the Liberal Party’s proposals for childcare. In sum, the Liberal proposal of a national childcare plan cannot be justified on the grounds that it is not universally accessible, does not adequately create spaces for children in the greatest need, and does not provide a significant enough increase in marginal benefit compared with the increase in marginal cost for a large enough number of Canadians to justify its implementation. Finally, the conclusion addresses possible changes to the Liberal policy that would more adequately address the stated goals of the Liberal policy, while at the same time be more beneficial to the majority of Canadians