ELIZABETH THOMPSON
The Gazette

A landmark report by a government agency underlines the need for Quebec to give families more help than just $5-a-day daycare, Liberal family-and-child-welfare critic Russell Copeman said yesterday.

"I can see where families are stressed out. Governments have to take a better look, a longer look, at how to be of assistance to those families."

Among other steps, Quebec should extend parental leaves, bring in better after-school daycare and increase tax credits or family-allowance assistance, he said. Employers should also be more sensitive to the needs of families, he added.

"We can look at time sharing, we can look at flex time, we can look at all sorts of things that I think are necessary to ensure that young families can balance professional responsibilities and family responsibilities."

In its first report card on the state of Quebec families, tabled this week in the National Assembly, the Conseil de la Famille et de l'Enfance said Quebec has to do more to reduce the stress on families. It's harder to afford a family in an era where few young Quebecers have job security and the average family has less disposable income after taxes than it did 20 years ago, the report found.

The government has yet to respond.

Family and Child Welfare Minister Nicole Leger could not comment on the report she tabled in the National Assembly on Wednesday because she has not yet read it, spokesman Stephane Perrault said yesterday.

Copeman, who has a working wife and three children, said the report paints an accurate picture of the challenges facing young families.

While many families have both parents working outside the home because they want to, others don't have a choice if they want "a reasonable level of income and lifestyle for their children," he said.

"That's unfortunate, because it narrows our choices and does put terrible stress on families."

The government also has to provide support for those who don't choose to put their children in daycare, he said.

"We have to continue developing daycare places, but we also have to be flexible and supportive of other types of needs out there."

For example, some families prefer to have one parent stay home for a few years or to hire babysitters to come to their homes, he said.

Daycare also only helps families with children under 5 years old, he noted.

"One of the major criticisms that we have of the current family policy of the PQ is that it isn't really a family policy - it's a daycare policy. Families need a broader range of support than merely daycare."

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