Author Archives: admin
Time to take a hard look at poverty
‘Place-based’ Plans to Conquer Child Poverty: With a neighbourhood-sized social safety net, low-income families could thrive
Child poverty deserves attention all year long
We’re letting governments off the hook
It’s easier to ignore statistics than little faces with names
Edleun Group buys 3 child care centres in Ontario for $4M; passes Alberta centre
Canadian Press
EXCERPT ONLY
CALGARY – The Edleun Group, Inc. says its has completed the acquisition of three child care centres in the Greater Toronto Area involving 356 licensed spaces in a deal valued at $4 million.
The centres, which have 112, 83 and 161 licensed spaces respectively, are all located in premises under long-term leases “in a major commercial node of the Mississauga, Ont., area.”
The company also said that, after due diligence, it had decided not to acquire a 70-licensed-space centre in Airdrie, Alta.
Edleun now has a total of 4,641 licensed spaces in 44 early learning and care centres, including centres owned and transactions previously announced to acquire, redevelop or build.
Governments need will to fix growing inequality
Big Box kids
Robin Hood reversed: Income-splitting benefits mainly wealthy breadwinners
Jody Dallaire, Dieppe Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunity between Women and Men;Straight Goods
The federal government has promised to introduce a tax change that will benefit only higher income families, favour couple-families over lone-parent families, favour men over women, and create an incentive to women being economically dependent. The change also will be very expensive to taxpayers.
Gee, what’s not to love, eh?
Income splitting will also:
- reduce the share of government revenue paid by high-income Canadians,
- probably reduce provincial governments’ revenues,
- remove people from the labour force at a time when Canada needs more labour force participation, and
- widen the gap between the rich and the rest of us.
Not exactly what we need these days.
Big-box child care buys Ontario centres
Laurie Monsebraaten, Toronto Star
… Edleun’s expansion into Ontario comes at a time when the province’s patchwork of mostly non-profit daycare programs is teetering on the verge of collapse due to municipal cuts, chronic provincial underfunding and the loss of 4- and 5-year-olds to all-day kindergarten.
Advocates who have been lobbying for a public or non-profit system of high-quality, affordable child care for all families that need it, say Edleun’s arrival marks the beginning of the privatization of daycare in Ontario….
Ontario Early Learning adviser Charles Pascal, who has just returned from Australia where he talked to child-care staff who worked at former ABC Learning centres, is alarmed by the arrival big box child care in Ontario….
Park Board approves more daycare spaces
The Best Place on Earth? Not for many B.C. families
Gathering community support for Revelstoke Children’s Charter
Give to charities, but also advocate for justice
Housing, child care stings ‘Generation Squeezed’
New deal for families is tough on crime
Legislative Q & A on Poverty Reduction and Access to Child Care
M. Elmore: The third and final Early Years Study report was released this week as well. All the provinces were ranked on early childhood education and child care policies, and British Columbia scored 4.5 out of 15. Only Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador scored worse.
Paul Kershaw from UBC’s human early learning partnership has argued that B.C. must do more to help families, with child care, parental leave and a better work-life balance. But the Liberals continue to ignore the very real need of families. To the Premier: what is she doing to make sure that parents in B.C. have access to improved child care?
Hon. G. Abbott: I am truly gratified to receive a question, even though it is rather late in the session.
I am very proud to be a part of a government that has invested over half a billion dollars in all-day kindergarten in order to meet the needs of young British Columbians. I am really proud to be a part of a government that has invested tens of millions in StrongStart opportunities across this province for young British Columbians.
I am further proud to be part of a government that has invested in neighbourhoods of learning, that will be investing in neighbourhoods of learning, to ensure that child care becomes a part of the educational environment as well.
Mr. Speaker: The member has a supplemental.
M. Elmore: Well, the reality today is that B.C. scored 4.5 out of 15 — a shameful and embarrassing third from the bottom across Canada. It’s not families first when families can’t access child care. When B.C. moved to full-day kindergarten, the Liberals did it without considering the effect on daycares that provide after-school care, and they did it without considering the younger kids, the infants to four-year-olds that feed into the school system. Today we see that 20 percent of those same kids are living in poverty.
British Columbians need leadership from their government. When is the Premier going to put action to her “families first” slogan by committing to a poverty reduction plan?
Hon. G. Abbott: Well, I’m really surprised that this member would raise the kinds of aspersions that she has about early childhood education in British Columbia. It is really quite astonishing to hear these kinds of suggestions after, so very successfully, we have seen the introduction of full-day kindergarten in British Columbia. We’ve seen the introduction of StrongStart centres that are making a difference on a daily basis to thousands and thousands of vulnerable young British Columbians and their families.
I’m very proud of the record of this government. British Columbia has a good education system, and on this side of the House we are dedicated to making it a great education system for British Columbia.