Bank of Canada head underlines potential of Quebec child care for entire country
OTTAWA — The head of the Bank of Canada is pointing to Quebec’s child-care policies as possible tools to boost the entire Canadian economy, thanks to their potential to unlock the greatest untapped resource in the labour force: women.
Bank governor Stephen Poloz dedicated part of a speech Tuesday in Kingston, Ont., to spotlight Quebec’s affordable child-care model as well as its extended parental-leave provisions.
He showed he’s put some thought into the possible benefits of a comparable pan-Canadian approach.
Poloz credited the province’s subsidized programs for raising prime-age female workforce participation to about 87 per cent, up from 74 per cent 20 years ago. In comparison, he said about 83 per cent of prime-age women participate in the national workforce.