The nuclear family, with a breadwinner husband and a full-time homemaker and mother, is still frequently portrayed by policy makers as the typical Canadian family. Clearly, this is a myth that does not represent the majority of Canadian families today. An ever-increasing number of families have two earners and statistics show that many of these families would fall below the poverty line if both partners did not work. There are now almost as many single parent families in Canada as there are families with a male breadwinner and full-time homemaker. Today, the extended family is the exception rather than the rule.
Families are smaller and family members are more likely to live far away.
An accessible network of family child care support is no longer as common as it once was. It is now well understood that solving the current child care crisis is an essential component in achieving women's equality. Moreover, a comprehensive system of high quality, affordable, accessible child care is urgently needed to meet the needs of our children. Today, parents from all walks of life are calling for a vastly expanded and improved child care support system. They have, in countless numbers, added their voices to those of day care advocates, trade unions, women's groups, and federal commissions of inquiry who have, throughout the past decade, been calling for affordable, high quality child care that is accessible to all families and includes a comprehensive range of services to meet the varied needs of children and families.