With news of an increase in out-of-school child care subsidies in BC, you may be wondering how much longer it will take the federal government to successfully address early learning and child care in Canada.

Since 2003 the government has transferred $2.65-billion to provinces to create child care spaces with no expectation of standards or accountability in return. Yet, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) places Canada last out of 14 countries in public spending on early learning and child care.

Meanwhile, the Harper government broke its promise to create 25,000 new child care spaces for 2006 plus an additional 125,000 over five years. To date, not one space has been created.

Parents continue to struggle to find quality child care spaces that meet their needs and that they can afford. While families may appreciate the small amount of extra cash, the taxable Universal Child Care Benefit does little to address the child care crisis that we're facing.

The good news is that the NDP's Early Learning and Child Care Act (Bill C- 303) could be just one vote away from becoming law. If passed, this act would create a foundation for a quality publicly funded program that provides accessible and affordable child care spaces across Canada.

These days it is unrealistic to expect that families can make ends meet with one income. We know that many are struggling to survive on less. Housing prices are becoming unattainable and income levels have not kept up with the increased cost of living. Economists confirm what ordinary Canadians keep saying: the gulf between the rich and rest of us is growing wider every year.

As parliamentarians prepare to head back to Ottawa in September, the Early Learning and Child Care Act is also scheduled back in the House of Commons for a final vote. Because all opposition parties have supported this bill in the past, it is expected that it would continue through the process until it receives royal assent and becomes law.

However, there are concerns that the Conservative government is planning to prorogue the House (which means the discontinuation of parliamentary meetings without dissolving Parliament). If so, existing parliamentary business would end. All government bills that had not received royal assent prior to prorogation would cease to exist.

In order for a government bill to proceed in a new session, it must be reintroduced as a new bill or it may be reinstated if the House agrees.

Therefore, if the House is prorogued until October, the Early Learning and Child Care Act would be further delayed. My colleagues and I know that our efforts to create fairness for working families cannot wait. On this, and many other issues that are important to ordinary Canadians, enough time has already been wasted.

We all pay the price for government inaction. Because early childhood learning is so critical to the health of our communities, we must continue to urge the Conservative government to act. Do not prorogue the House. Let the will of Parliament result in creating the landmark universal child care program in Canada that today's families deserve.