You're absolutely right; when we look across this country at how child care is delivered and the preferences of families across the country, there are differences. Whether you're rural, remote or urban, things are different. The system we are working to build with our partners, with the provinces and territories and indigenous partners, offers parents incredible choice.
First of all, it's not a mandatory system. You have the choice of whether you choose to participate or not. If you do choose to seek child care through our system, there's still an abundance of choice. You could choose to put your child in a child care centre. You could choose to put your child in a family home day care. There are various options when it comes to for-profit or not-for-profit centres or care. You could choose to leave your child with a relative. You could choose to have in-home care with a nanny. All of these choices that existed prior to 2021 all exist. The difference is that they're now affordable.
Prior to the fee reduction, many families couldn't obtain child care. They couldn't afford to pay the rates. Arguably, they have more choice now, because they realize that it's within reach and they're able to afford the options we've put out.