Ken Dryden's Dream - Canada's Nightmare

I view Ken Dryden’s appointment to the position of Canadian ‘Minister of Social Development’ with mixed emotions. On one hand, he seems to be a very likable chap with a big heart. On the other hand, the road to hell is often paved with good intentions and always paid for with other people’s money. Sometimes, in fact, developers, contractors and business interests benefit more from the road than the travellers do. With that in mind, lets take a virtual test drive down Mr. Dryden’s proposed 'National Childcare Program’ highway.

(For those who haven't heard, Mr. Dryden will be creating a national daycare program at an initial cost of $5 billion with additional annual costs estimated in the $billions. It will create thousands of tax funded government jobs and significantly increase the number of Canadians dependent on government handouts.)

With this program, Mr. Dryden appears to display his good (albeit, frighteningly socialist) intentions. What he is really showing, however, is that he understands and embraces the Vision and core values of the Liberal party.

In case you haven't heard, the Liberal's Vision Statement is:

'The Liberal Party of Canada doesn't exist to serve Canadians - Canadians exist to serve the Liberal party of Canada. '

And the three core values of the Liberal Party are:

Everything a Liberal politician does must - 1. buy votes; 2. transfer power and responsibility from individuals and families to the Liberal state; and 3. create government jobs for Liberal friends and supporters. (I challenge anyone to show me anything the Liberals have done that does not satisfy one or more of those criteria.)

Mr. Dryden is obviously a quick study. He'll make a great Liberal. His new Program will accomplish all three of the above goals admirably.

But let me ask you, do we really need another multi-billion dollar sinkhole run by incompetent Liberal appointees? And more importantly, do we really need to have a national program where responsible parents are forced to pay for the assorted offspring of women who knowlingly make irresponsible reproductive decisions and men who 'eat shoots and leaves’ (Oh, wait, that’s what Koala bears do. Apologies to my furry friends down-under. I didn't mean to compare you guys with those reprehensible absentee fathers.)

Now, where was I. Oh yes: Let me be clear, I don't mind paying for daycare for women whose mates have died or left them and who need to work to live. But I consider it immensely unfair to ask me to pay for daycare for children of women who make a conscious decision to engage in risky sexual behavior with no husband to help support their accidental offspring. As a society, we shouldn't be rewarding bad decisions.

I also don't think I should pay for daycare for children of dual income families where one parent makes enough to allow them to subsist. Lets face it, most dual income families don't work to live - they work for the late model car or cars, the comfy house in the burbs, the nice vacations and the big TV. Let them drive an older car, watch a 20 inch TV, down-size the house to a condo and leave one parent at home with THEIR kids.

I am tired of politicians like Mr. Dryden who endlessly encourage people to look to big brother and my wallet to solve all their self-inflicted life problems. Enough already. If people want kids maybe they should pay for them themselves. If they cannot, maybe they should put them up for adoption at birth so they can be raised by parents who are able to take responsibility for them.

Perhaps Mr. Dryden could demonstrate his compassion and set a personal example for us all by adopting a few needy children himself and paying for their upkeep with his own money - rather than confiscating our money to pay for his grand utopian dream. He should not forget that one man's dream is another man's (or nation's) nightmare.