BC Liberal childcare critic Laurie Throness took to Twitter yesterday to double down on his criticism of universal childcare, claiming that it has “harmful effects” on children. (Link)

These comments echo his past statement that childcare isn’t needed because parents should just stay home: “we have one full-time, 24-hour-a-day space for every child in BC. By law, childcare is now, and always has been, universal and 24-7.” (Link)

On Tuesday, Throness claimed that childcare is “not about parents,” suggesting that reducing costs for parents and helping them return to work were not good reasons to invest in childcare.

To sum up, Throness believes:

• Childcare is “harmful” to children
• Parents (often mothers) should just stay home
• We shouldn’t reduce childcare costs or improve access for families

Despite these views (and many others, including being anti-SOGI and anti-abortion), Wilkinson kept Throness in his role as Critic for Children and Family Development and Child Care when he shuffled his critics in September.

Katrina Chen, Minister of State for Child Care:

“BC families deserve lower costs and more choice when it comes to childcare, and it’s clear that Andrew Wilkinson’s hand-picked critic disagrees. By keeping Laurie Throness in this role despite his longstanding hostility to universal childcare, Andrew Wilkinson has shown he is out of touch with British Columbia families. If he were given the opportunity, he would reverse our progress and drive up costs for families again. He’s a risk parents can’t afford.”