CCCABC

We have just learned that Camosun College is planning to close its on site child care services. Camosun College has been providing quality child care for students, staff, faculty and the community for over 18 years. The College has 68 child care spaces for children from 0 – 5 at its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses. 75 % of the users are students and some of the facilities were built with BC 21 funds – a child care capital program. Yet the college says that they can no longer cover operating costs for a service that is outside of their ‘core mandate’. Children and their families are once again paying the price for inadequate public funding for child care.

That the College’s decision to close child care comes on the heels of supposed renewed interest in a universal child care system for all of Canada’s children tragically highlights the gap between promises and action.

The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC is calling on the Camosun College Board to allocate sufficient resources to maintain their child care services and is calling on Premier Campbell to ensure that post-secondary institutions have the mandate and resources to support on-site quality child care services.

The Camosun decisions will be made this week so send an immediate email to:
Camosun Board of Governors, Chair – Peter Baillie c/o leslie@camosun.bc.ca
Camosun College President – Dr. Liz Ashton at ashton@camosun.bc.ca
Camosun Bursar – Peter Lockie at lockie@camosun.bc.ca

Copy Premier Campbell on your message at premier@gov.bc.ca and let the families and staff at Camosun know they are not alone by copying your support message to manraj@camosun.bc.ca

Write your own message or cut and paste this one:

Subject: Child Care Closure

To: Camosun College Chair, Board and President,

I am very concerned to hear that Camosun College is planning to close 68 quality child care spaces for infants, toddlers and pre-school aged children on two of your campuses. Campus based child care is a vital service that supports healthy child development and makes it possible for parents to study and work. While provincial funding cuts have made it difficult to sustain affordable, quality child care, the services we lose today will take decades to rebuild. I urge you to keep your child care services open and to join parents and caregivers across BC who are working together for a publicly funded child care system that meets the needs of all.