Yesterday in the Senate, Senator Ringuette denounced the fact that the Conservative government would rather invest in prison spaces than child care spaces. She believes that Canada must invest in its future and in its children. Senator Ringuette also made the following comments:
“As outlined in the Conservative Budget last week, only $250 million of TAX CREDIT, not CASH, will be invested in the next five years to create 125,000 child care spaces. So in real terms, about $400 million is invested for the next five years which represents $3,200 per child care space for Capital Cost, but with no incentive for Operating Cost.
Furthermore, Minister Stockwell Day indicated that his department will be spending $245 million, over the next five years, to build more federal prison spaces to accommodate 400 new prisoners. This represents in Capital Cost $612,500 per spaces, plus we can add to this to the yearly permanent operating cost to keep one prisoner which is $82,000. If we multiply that amount by 400, we have a total of $32.8 million that it will cost us in operating cost for those additional prison spaces.
This Conservative Government would rather invest $612,500 for PRISON SPACES and only invest $3,200 for CHILD CARE SPACES.”
The Senator further added: “Every sociologist and criminologist and economist is upfront in saying that, Canada must invest in its future, and Canada must invest in its children. Unfortunately, it is not where the Conservative Government is investing.”