The federal government's proposal to spend billions of taxpayers' money on government-run, unionized institutional daycare will do absolutely nothing to help Canada's overtaxed parents look after their own children.

Canada's high taxes make it impossible for many Canadian mothers and fathers to provide quality child care for their own children at home. Taxes are the largest item in the Canadian family's budget; the average Canadian family pays more in taxes each month than it does for rent or the mortgage. When you factor in all taxes paid by Canadians - including GST, income tax, property tax, business taxes - the average Canadian loses 49% of her earnings to support three levels of government.

When the Income War Tax Act was introduced in 1917 as a "temporary" measure to help pay for Canada's war efforts, families with children did not pay the 4% personal income tax on the first $3,000 earned. That doesn't sound like much, but $3,000 in 1917 is the same as $41,000 in 2005. If today's family could keep its first $41,000 of earnings free from federal income tax, as families did in 1917, then parents wouldn't feel nearly as much pressure to work long hours to earn enough after-tax dollars.

But unlike the $41,000 exemption enjoyed by families in 1917, today's Canadian family starts paying 16% federal income tax on earnings in excess of $14,815. How is a family with children supposed to pay for food, clothing, electricity, insurance, and rent (or mortgage) on $14,815 per year Yet Ottawa taxes all family income in excess of $14,815.

Financial unfairness aside, what is most frightening about this national daycare proposal is the assumption that unionized strangers will do a better job looking after children in institutions than will parents looking after their own children at home. Since when did parents become incapable of providing high-quality, affordable and accessible child care for their own children Common sense tells us that government cannot ensure that daycare workers - no matter how well paid - will give each child the affection and personal attention they would get from mom or dad or another family member. The Beatles said it well a few decades ago: Money can't buy love.

There are as many child care arrangements as there are families. In some families both parents work outside the home, but arrange their lives and schedules so that at least one parent is always home. Other parents

need child care only on a part-time basis, or only in the evenings, or only on weekends. Other families rely on help from grandparents and other family members for some or all of their child care needs. Many families make the difficult financial choice of having one parent care for the children full-time at home.

Sadly, Ottawa's daycare plan doesn't empower parents to make their own child care choices. Instead, it forces all taxpayers to subsidize only one child care option: that of institutions run by government unions.

Instead of spending billions of our money on state-run daycare institutions, the federal government should raise the basic personal and spousal exemptions to $15,000 each, allowing a family to keep its first $30,000 of annual earnings free from federal income tax. Any further support for parents should come in the form of a per-child exemption, to empower all parents with choice on child care.