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"About 15 to 20 years ago they introduced a government program to reward Quebec parents with a cash bonus of more than $1,000. for every child born in the Province. The incentive seems to have had no effect. Quebec's birthrate is still amongst the lowest in Canada - which is low enough as it is."

A $1,000 cash bonus is chump change compared to the costs of raising a child. And even if they were to multiply that bonus by a factor of 10, I doubt it would have the intended effect.

In this day of birth control and infanticide, the people who have children are those who want them for reasons that have little to do with economics. That may come from some immature sense of just wanting a baby, as we see with unwed pregnant teenagers, or it may come from a desire rooted in spirituality as we see amongst Christians.

The best thing that the state can do to increase birthrates is not to penalize those who are inclined to have them. And this is one area where I depart the conservative reservation, as I think our current tax structure is incredibly punitive towards those who do have children. And the "solutions" promoted by many conservatives would simply exacerbate that.

"The best thing that the state can do to increase birthrates is not to penalize those who are inclined to have them. And this is one area where I depart the conservative reservation, as I think our current tax structure is incredibly punitive towards those who do have children."

- Although Steyn may have touched upon it in his book, I think you are right in the fact that Western economies have slowly evolved since WW11 to require both parents to work if they want to have any hope of improving their financial situation, over time.
This mitigates against large families since women can no longer afford to stay home and leave one bread winner to support a big brood. This, combined with the high cost of housing in Europe makes it virtually impossible to buy a home large enough for more than one child families.
We get several programs here from England which deal with couples there searching for and buying better homes. It's appalling and pathetic to see these cramped two bedroom row houses selling for $200,000 plus - the prospective buyers sitting in kitchens the size of a large walk in closet and thinking that their getting a good deal.
I couldn't see raising three or four children in such conditions either, especially since these couples reasonably expect to have enough money left over for a car and an annual vacation in the sun.
More and more of them are going to emigrate which is only going to accelerate the trend toward Eurabia.
As an interesting footnote, the French have never been big emigrants - especially to Quebec, where many consider that Quebecers speak a poor dialectic of French that they look down upon. Nevertheless, I have read recent reports that French families have increasingly been moving there, attracted by cheap housing costs and low taxes. One emigrate even marveled that he was now able to hold down two jobs to increase his standard of living. In France, holding more than one job is either difficult (due to high unemployment) or against some regulations which penalize those who do.