Watch this space for response and analysis of the federal budget from CCPA staff and our Alternative Federal Budget partners. More information will be added as it is available.

Families in Canada deserve affordable child care, but costs vary widely across Canada. Many Canadians don’t know that Quebec has the least expensive child care in the country at $7.30/day. Quebec’s fixed fee puts the province at the top of the list for child care affordability, meanwhile in big cities like Toronto, parents pay $49/day, and in Vancouver it's $41 a day (for toddlers/preschoolers).

Economist David A Green has thoroughly reviewed the academic literature and found no evidence that a $15 minimum wage would cause harm — on the contrary, it would benefit families and reduce poverty and inequality.

Read The Case for Increasing the Minimum Wage.

It takes a lot for working parents to get by in Toronto, especially when you consider what it actually costs to rent an apartment, pay hydro bills, own a vehicle, take the TTC, buy groceries, and pay for child care.

Yesterday, the Nova Scotia government released a provincial budget that shocked and concerned many. Instead of a proactive budget, the government whipped up hysteria about the deficit and debt problems, and did not address the real problems we face as a province, including poverty, illiteracy, lack of regulated affordable, quality child care and our worsening infrastructure deficit.