General election information
Let’s be sure all child care advocates get out on voting day. It is important to vote:
- “The right to vote is a fundamental democratic right that is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is the cornerstone of democracy.”
- “When we vote, we choose the representatives who will make the laws and policies that govern how we live together.”
The political party platforms – What are they saying about child care?
Meet some of the BC child care advocates who are candidates in the federal election
CCCABC Election Materials
Defend Daycare [download this as a 1 page PDF]
The 2006 federal election campaign is on and ‘child care’ is making headlines.
Steven Harper and his federal Conservatives have launched a full-scale attack on quality, publicly funded child care. If elected, they promise to spend $10.9 billion over the next 5 years to:
- Cancel federal ‘child care’ transfer payments to provinces starting in April, 2006.
- Give families a $100 monthly taxable allowance for every child under 6.
- Provide tax credits to employers and businesses to create child care spaces.
If this is implemented:
- Billions of public dollars will be spent across the country with no accountability.
- BC will lose close to $550 million in transfer payments that can and should be used to build a publicly funded, universal, non-profit child care system.
- Families will net, at most, $100 a month per child. This doesn’t come close to paying for a quality licensed child care space.
- Funding to families and licensed programs will likely go down and we know this means that fees will go up, wages will go down, and quality will suffer.
- Public funding will support for-profit and big box chain expansion, as only they stand to benefit from tax credits for creating new spaces. Tax credits will not help non-profits create new spaces to meet the needs of families and communities.
Don’t be fooled – this is NOT a child care plan.
Families with children need a range of supports but a new taxable allowance for young children is NOT a substitute for daycare programs and a child care system that meets children’s developmental needs and supports the vast majority of Canadian mothers and families who are at work and school.
On January 23, 2006 vote for candidates who defend spending on quality licensed daycare and who will build the child care system that Canadian children and families need and deserve.
BC Parent Voices Election Materials
A Few Child Care Facts [2 page factsheet]
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