Is a pan-Canadian early child development system possible? Yes, when we redress what ails Canadian culture

Abstract

Canada lags behind other countries when it comes to investing in families with children. Canada, therefore, fails to promote health by not optimizing early development. The authors diagnose the Canadian failure. The problem is not research or fiscal capacity, but rather a sickness in Canadian culture. Four ailments are identified: Canadians are convinced they cannot afford new social investments, tend to treat illness rather than promote health, ignore that good family policy requires gender equality, and discount intergenerational justice. In response, the authors propose four policy solutions. Their pan-Canadian framework would cost $22 billion annually, not even one-half of current elderly and pension benefits. The new investment would reduce child vulnerability from approximately 30% to just 10% of children within 10 years. This reduction in early vulnerability would increase gross domestic product 20% more over 60 years than if Canadians tolerate the status quo.