Ms Susan Harney, Chairperson
Board of Directors
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of British Columbia
Dear Ms Harney
It is my pleasure and privilege to inform you that the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of British Columbia has been chosen to receive our union’s – the Spirit of Leadership Award.
The Spirit of Leadership Award is presented every three years to an individual or organization in British Columbia for their special contribution on social issues. The award symbolizes our union’s commitment to the goal of leadership in social action.
Previous recipients are James Gosnell (1987), Pauline Jewett (1989), Jean Swanson (1991), Rosemary Brown (1993), David Suzuki (1995), Dave Barrett and Thomas Berger (1997), John Shields (1999), and the Canadian Federation of Students (2002). This year, we wish to acknowledge the important contribution that the CCCABC has made to working parents and their children in communities across our province. There are many organizations advocating for affordable, accessible, publicly funded and regulated child care, but none more deserving than the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C.
We have been most impressed with your unwavering commitment to advance the child care agenda in our province despite the enormous challenges of the last four years. Massive cuts to child care by the Campbell Liberal government have hurt families in communities across B.C. Instead of removing barriers to working parents by creating more licensed child care spaces, the government eliminated important resource and referral services, forced centres to close or drastically scale back, and refused to fund the negotiated wage rates of early childhood educators.
But amidst this crisis, your organization stepped up its campaign. You raised public awareness of the importance of early childhood education to a child’s development. You supported BCGEU members by speaking out about the importance of unionization in the delivery of quality child care, and the right for child care workers to a fair wage. You proposed workable solutions and mobilized communities into action. Your intense lobbying efforts helped to put child care on the political agenda, both provincially and nationally.
The BCGEU is proud to be a member of the Coalition. We are proud of the strong partnership of our two movements. We are committed to continuing our work together in the hopes that one day every family who needs it has access to affordable, quality, not-for-profit child care.
We wish to honour the CCCABC at our triennial convention at the end of June.
On behalf of the Provincial Executive, staff and 55,000 members of the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union, congratulations on this award and thank you for your ongoing commitment to social action. I look forward to seeing you in June.
Recognizing organizations who have made exceptional contributions to the early childhood education and care community.
The “High Flyers” Award was presented to the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC.
For over 25 years, the Coalition has been strong and steadfast in articulating a vision for high quality, accessible and affordable child care. Through timely and topical research, analysis and literature, the Coalition keeps our community well informed, current and focused on our “issues of the day”. They have helped move child care from the margins to the mainstream in our province. Hats off and bravo to the Coalition for their tireless efforts and high flying!
Celebrate the arrival of the Womens Charter for Humanity in Vancouver on May 1st! This document – created and agreed to by 6000 womens organizations around the world – provides a positive vision of the world that women are fighting globally to create. Based around the 5 core values of equality, freedom, solidarity, justice and peace, the Charter reflects above all the desire of thousands of womens groups throughout the world to work within a common framework of global feminist action and to collectively construct a more just world where all live well.
The Charter was launched across the world by 30,000 women on March 8, 2005 from Sao Paolo, Brazil, and will finish its journey across the world in Burkina Faso on October 17, 2005. This local event, hosted by the Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres as a member of the World March of Women, will take place at noon on May 1st at the South Plaza of the Vancouver Public Library.
The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC wants to thank our members and supporters for all your work to ensure that Canada’s children and families have the child care they need and deserve.
Over twenty years of community-based advocacy – culminating in the recent Building Blocks campaign – has made a difference. Parents, providers and our social justice partners have moved child care from the margins to the mainstream.
Our voices were loud and strong at the federal/provincial/territorial child care meetings on February 11 in Vancouver. Our advice that an agreement to build a national child care program must be based on adequate public funding, legislation with standards and principles, concrete accountability measures and non-profit expansion of services, shaped the debate like never before.
While it’s very disappointing that the politicians didn’t reach such an agreement, let’s remember that a good child care program is more important than a ‘quick but flawed deal’.
The federal/provincial/territorial ministers will meet again after the federal budget is tabled on February 23. If they use this time to get the building blocks right, we will yet have reason to celebrate. But, children and families can’t wait much longer.
The Coalition, along with advocates from across the country, is still calling on the federal government to take a leadership role. We remind the Prime Minister and Minister Dryden that Canadians have a right to see their tax dollars spent wisely. If this means starting with only those provinces and territories that are prepared to table concrete action plans outlining how they will use federal funds to build quality, universal, accessible, developmental and inclusive child care systems – then so be it.
Regrettably, there is no evidence that the BC government has such a child care plan.
In spite of having received close to $250 million federal dollars in the last 4 years for early childhood including child care, the BC government spent their first 3 years in office cutting the child care budget. Now, as a provincial election nears, they are spending again. Yet, their decision to put more money into unregulated care and into one-time only initiatives that do little to promote quality or stability flies in the face of credible research.
May 17, 2005 is the date for the next provincial election. This is where our energies will now go. We will be calling on the provincial government and all those seeking our votes to table clearly articulated and accountable plans for building a long-overdue child care system in BC – a system based on quality, universality, accessibility, developmental programming and inclusion.
Please join us at our AGM on Thursday March 3, 7:00 pm, Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, 2131 Renfrew, Vancouver. Learn about the Coalition’s work and hear our Keynote Speaker, Nancy Neamtan, share lessons from Quebec about building a child care system that empowers parents and communities.
OTTAWA, Dec. 21 /CNW Telbec/ – A new online action centre is upping the pressure on Social Development Minister Ken Dryden to lay the best groundwork for a new child care system.
Visitors to www.buildchildcare.ca will be able to send a message to Dryden, their provincial minister responsible for child care and other decision-makers. The site, run by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, joins other advocacy campaigns promoting the four building blocks of quality child care.
“This online campaign will add new voices to the call for Minister Dryden to make sure that Canada’s new child care system is publicly funded and publicly delivered,” said CUPE National President Paul Moist.
The building blocks call for a publicly funded, universal and sustainable system that’s non-profit and accountable, and which is enshrined in legislation. Moist said the need for Canadians to mobilize for a high-quality, fully public system has never been clearer.
“In the coming months, Minister Dryden and his provincial and territorial counterparts will be making decisions that will make or break the system,” said Moist. “We need to make sure they build it right from the start. We need them to make it public.”
“The website was developed so that parents, workers and kids can take part in the decision-making process and advocate for the high-quality system Canadians deserve and need,” said Moist.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the B.C. Federation of Labour develop and adopt a plan of action on childcare including:
– holding the federal government accountable, through the Canadian Labour Congress, to its election commitment to develop a national childcare plan;
– hold the provincial government accountable for federal money transfers targeted for childcare programs;
– making childcare and early childhood education a key issue in the upcoming provincial election;
– joining and supporting the Coalition of Childcare Advocates of BC and encouraging all affiliates to do the same; and
– participating fully with provincial and federal governments to maintain and enhance a comprehensive system for quality, group childcare including wage equity for childcare workers, child care referral services, out of school childcare and infant and toddler grants.
As government representatives gather to develop a national child care plan, child care advocates will be watching closely to ensure the ministers lay a solid foundation that supports a universal, high-quality public program. They have developed a six-point checklist they’ll be using to measure progress and evaluate the program being shaped in the coming days and months.
Last June, in the federal election, Liberals promised to introduce a “Quebec-style” early learning and child care system across Canada. When they formed the government, it began to look as though the welcome promise for Canada’s children would be fulfilled.
In October, a report released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) firmly criticized Canada’s early learning and child care arrangements. Their analysis reinforces that the action promised by the Liberals is urgent and that transformational change is needed.
In addition, the OECD’s detailed suggestions for change point the way to the quality, universal, accessible, developmental and inclusive child care system promised in June. It is about more than money: Layering new funding on top of what is not working will only produce more of the same. The outcome of upcoming federal/provincial/territorial negotiations will be critical for the future of Canada’s children. The following checklist will be used to measure progress.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments must commit to:
Move from the current user pay and subsidy patchwork to publicly funded early learning and child care programs as in Quebec and many OECD countries.
Guarantee that new federal money will be in addition to existing federal commitments and that provincial and territorial governments will increase and supplement, not replace, existing provincial spending.
Enshrine the principles of early learning and child care in legislation and introduce standards that guarantee quality, universal, accessible, developmental and inclusive programs.
Dedicate a separate funding stream for a new federal transfer to provinces and territories to ensure stable and adequate funding.
Agree that all expansion takes place through public and/or not for profit delivery. Existing for-profit programs may be grand-parented.
Tie provincial and territorial accountability to five -year plans that include goals and objectives, timelines and targets, review and evaluation as they build the new Child Care system.
These commitments are essential to concluding a successful federal/provincial/territorial agreement.
On October 26, 2004, Hon Stan Hagen, Minister of Children and Family Development, announced the BC government would be spending $33 million on child care. He said that as of January 2005 this money would:
increase income thresholds at which families become eligible for child care subsidy
boost child care subsidy rates for eligible families
provide one time transitional funding for service providers under the operating funding program.
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Responses in the media:
$33-million restored to child-care subsidy
Times Colonist (Victoria), Oct 27, 2004, Jeff Rud
EXCERPT
A $33-million injection into B.C.’s child-care subsidy program will make 10,000 more children eligible for benefits, the province said Tuesday.
Minister of Children and Family Development Stan Hagen said the funding increase will also mean a raise in the subsidy amount received by thousands of children already in the program.
“With this $33-million boost, we’re creating a stable, sustainable child care system, and we’re doing so in a responsible, accountable way,” Hagen said in a release heralding the increase. “We’re making sure more families in need are eligible, and that they have a choice of child care providers in their communities.”
But NDP Leader Carole James, who before entering provincial politics was director of child care under the previous NDP government, said the B.C. Liberals are merely reinstating a portion of what they cut after winning office in 2001.
James said the current government slashed its child-care budget to $156 million from $198 million. Now it is using federal government early childhood transfer money to add back some of what it cut, she said.
“Obviously, any money going into child care is a positive, considering how much they’ve taken out,” James said. “But this doesn’t make up for the cuts that they’ve made in child care over the last 31/2 years.”
Ministry statistics show that 27,000 B.C. children receive child-care subsidy payments. The government provides a monthly child-care subsidy to eligible low-income families to help support them in obtaining education, training and jobs.
Hagen said beginning Jan. 1, the monthly income “threshold” for families to be eligible to receive the subsidy will be raised by $200, leaving “thousands” more families in higher income brackets eligible.
Families who have children under six in regulated care will see their subsidy increased. As well, parents’ student loans will no longer be factored into income thresholds when determining subsidy eligibility.
The monthly income threshold for parents with special needs children will also rise by an additional $100. As well, these family’s subsidies will increase to $150 from $107 a month.
“We recognize the challenge many B.C. families face in affording child care, and that’s why we’ve targeted this funding to low-income families, children with special needs and eligible parents with student loans,” Hagen said….
But James pointed out that the government’s announcement comes on the heels of an Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development report, which criticized B.C.’s child-care setup.
“I find it interesting that child care is now a priority when we’re seven months away from the election, but it’s been no priority for the last 31/2 years,” James said.
“It’s interesting timing that they would come out with this new money today. But it does nothing to address the criticism. They cut the subsidy program when they got in. They made the (threshold) higher, so basically fewer parents were able to access child-care subsidies and now they’re lowering it again.”
Roughly half of the $33-million injection was federal early childhood money, Hagen said.
James said the province has been misusing this money to prop up existing programs rather than create new ones, the intention of such transfer funds.
Hagen defended the government’s move, saying there has been no increase to these subsidy programs for 10 years. “I think everybody knew it needed to be addressed. I can remember the premier raising this for the first time at the cabinet table about three years ago. And it was really as a result of his pushing that all of this stuff was centralized under my ministry about three or four months ago.”…
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B.C. child-care subsidy raised for first time in decade: Income threshold increased, 10,000 more children eligible
The Vancouver Sun, Oct 27, 2004, Dirk Meissner
EXCERPT
The first increases in B.C. child-care subsidies in a decade were announced Tuesday.
The Liberal government will add $33 million annually to the provincial child-care budget, a move that makes 10,000 more children eligible for child-care subsidies and increases the subsidy already being received by thousands more children by $200, said Stan Hagen, minister of children and family development.
“Whatever the income threshold was today, it will be raised by $200 January 1,” he said following an announcement at a Victoria child care centre.
“I want to give parents certainty about their child’s development,” Hagen said. “Ten thousand more children will become newly eligible for funding through our child-care subsidy program.”
About 27,000 B.C. children in child care already receive subsidy payments, he said.
The money for the subsidy program is part of a joint federal-provincial government early learning and child care agreement.
Hagen said the subsidy increases make up the money the Liberals cut from families when they first took office in May 2001 and undertook a government-wide restraint program.
He also hinted more money is on the way.
“This is not the end,” he said. “We hope to continue to be able to make improvements to the programs. As our economy builds I think we’ll be able to do that.”
The increases cover families with children under six years old in regulated child care facilities.
As well, families with children with special needs will see increases and student loans for lower income parents will no longer factor into calculating subsidies….
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More than money needed for child care
The Daily News (Kamloops), Oct 29, 2004
Opinion:Susan Duncan
Putting more money into child care is only one part of the equation needed to raise this important industry on the government’s priority list.
B.C. Liberals announced Tuesday a $3.3 million increase to the provincial child-care budget. Minister Stan Hagen emphasized that 10,000 more children will be eligible for child-care subsidies. He said he wants to give parents certainty about their children’s development.
While allowing more families access to child-care subsidies is helpful for people who need assistance, there is more to the child-care programs than space in day cares. What governments, federal or provincial, are not addressing is the quality of day care offered.
A recent international report described Canada’s child-care system as expensive, glorified babysitting, which has failed the country’s preschoolers. The report by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development said the system is fractured, seriously underfunded and places little importance on the educational aspect of child care. It also noted that some centres are poorly equipped and that workers are often poorly trained and poorly paid.
With that report getting support from experts in the field, federal and provincial governments need to carefully consider whether they are simply putting more money into bad programs and what they can do better.
There remains a philosophy that anyone can look after children, which is a dangerous premise on which to base child care. Looking after children, particularly other people’s children, is hard work and requires a specific skill set.
Yet, almost anyone can set up a day care and if they get licensed by health authorities, there are only minimum standards to meet. Surely, when it comes to our children, national or provincial standards for day care should strive for excellence.
Some day cares go well beyond the minimum standards, but others do not. Day care employees who take early childhood education are paid so poorly they often don’t stay in the field.
A few good ones stay because they see it as a vocation, but many of them eventually move into better paying careers, such as teaching. As a result, people with no training at all can end up looking after the vast majority of children in poor day care environments
A story in the Vancouver Sun last Saturday had health inspectors admitting that the child-care industry has grown so much that they are unable to meet even the basic obligation of an annual inspection. For 5,000 day-care facilities in B.C., there are 100 health inspectors and licensing is only a small part of their job. It’s disturbing to think what people might be getting away with under the auspices of a qualified day-care facility.
Politicians have been warned that they cannot keep adding child care spaces without adding the resources to ensure they are appropriate facilities for children. Yet, the Liberals’ announcement emphasizes how more children will be added to the program.
Additional money is going to have to go toward better pay for workers as well as improving the standards for day care and enforcement of those standards.
Children are an important resource and governments must have a vision for day care that will clearly indicate respect for the development and safety of our youth when their parents can’t be there to protect them.
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Gov’t all talk, no action on families
The Vancouver Province, Oct 29, 2004
Editorial, Dorothy Weavers
I’m responding to Jim McNulty’s recent column about the lack of child-care funding. It was excellent.
This provincial government and the federal government should be ashamed at the lack of political will for the provision of adequate funding for child care, child-care workers and early childhood education.
The cutbacks in this province show that this government is all talk and no action when it comes to children and families.
My grandchildren are likely better off than most, but their families struggle every day due to cuts by this provincial government. I can’t imagine how families who are making very low incomes — both parents working and trying to raise their families — are doing it.
Proper child care and adequate pay for child-care workers benefit society now and in the future.
I’m a grandmother with four grandchildren. I thank you for keeping the public informed.
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New childcare money welcomed, more wanted
Vancouver Island News Group, Nov 3, 2004
An infusion of $33 million into childcare in B.C. is good news, but doesn’t fully address the concerns of childcare advocates.
“All of this is of course positive,” said Mary Dolan of the Cowichan Valley Early Childhood Educators Coalition. “It indicates the government is listening to what families are saying.”
Minister of Children and Family Development Stan Hagen announced the new funding – coming in part from a federal-provincial childcare agreement – in Victoria last week.
It will be used to raise the income threshold for families to receive childcare subsidies by $200 per month, making about 10,000 more children in B.C. eligible.
It will also increase the supplement granted for care of children with special needs to $150 per month from $107.
Dolan said those changes will help in the Cowichan Valley, as many low-income working parents didn’t qualify for the subsidies under the old rules.
Another change removes student loans from consideration in counting a parents’ income. Dolan said that will greatly benefit the young parents who graduate from her Growing Together centre, for students of School District 79 with children.
“Young people moving on from here going for more education and taking a student loan will still qualify for the subsidy, and that’s going to assist a great deal,” she said.
However, Dolan said childcare advocates still have concerns. She said the $33 million is less than what’s been cut from childcare in the past three years.
She wondered if there would be enough spaces available for the increased demand for childcare, and if training programs for childcare workers would be increasing accordingly, and if enough resources will be put into inspecting childcare centres to ensure they are up to standards.
“You need more than money for good childcare,” she said. “You need trained practitioners. You need standards that can be maintained.”
Dolan said childcare advocates are pleased with media comments from Hagen indicating more money for childcare could still be on the way.
“I’m an optimist, not a pessimist, so I hope this isn’t because the election is coming up and is actually making a turnaround in recognizing the importance of early childcare.”
“The Ministry of Health Services is renewing the regulations for licensed child day care settings, and for licensed residential care settings for adults, children and youth”.
The new Community Care and Assisted Living Act, came into force on May 14, 2004 and this round of child care consultation from Sept 28 – Dec 31, 2004 will focus on:
“reduction in the number of categories of facilities;
standardization of physical plant requirements;
improve / standardize staff: child ratios;
improve training requirements for Early Childhood Educators and staff;
increase maximum hours of care; and
mandatory emergency preparedness planning.”
All interested persons are invited to participate in “a community session” (“working group discussion”) or by “submitting written comments”.
Public consultation will be held in: Kamloops, Castlegar, Kelowna, North Vancouver; Vancouver, Richmond; Victoria, Campbell River, Nanaimo, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Surrey, Terrace, Prince George, and Fort St John.
B.C. Finance Minister Gary Collins presented the provincial government’s quarterly financial report on September 14, 2004.
Finance Minister Collins:
“Larger budget surpluses in the years ahead will provide British Columbians with more choices and more opportunities to realize their vision for our province, Finance Minister Gary Collins said today in releasing the Budget 2005 Consultation Paper.
“B.C.’s revitalized economy is generating a string of healthy and growing budget surpluses,” said Collins. “We want to hear from British Columbians about their priorities and their suggestions for what the government should do with the available funds.”
Collins says government could offer “more tax cuts, increase program spending or cut the debt”.
Responses: “The rosy financial report was warmly received by the business community, but social groups and the Opposition New Democrats said many British Columbians were hurt by government cuts.” (Canadian Press)
One opinion:
“Darcy Rezac, Vancouver Board of Trade spokesman, said the government is wise to slowly weigh its options for the surplus funds. “The fact that we do have a modest surplus shows it’s time to pause and reflect and see where we are,” he said. The business community doesn’t have a set wish list, but paying down the debt and reducing the provincial sales tax are longstanding priorities, Rezac said.
More opinions: “I would say at least $500 million should be spent on income assistance, both in terms of people’s eligibility and in terms of the rates,” said Michael Goldberg, research director for the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C. He said his No. 2 priority would be restoration and enhancement of child care: “I would say right off the bat that would be at least $200 million this year and then grow significantly in subsequent years. “The third thing would be restoration of community-based services for children and families.” (Vancouver Sun, Sept. 15, 2004)
“Collins is doing his best to spin a myth that BC’s expected surplus is due to a robust economy. When asked about his tax hikes and service cuts, he responds with jargon about the need to put our fiscal house in order. Those who are paying $1,000 a year more in MSP premiums have every right to think that their payments created the surplus. Those who are looking at higher heating bills are unlikely to think its great that the government is getting a windfall profit from higher natural gas prices. No amount of political spin will hide the fact that the expected surplus is due to tax hikes, service cuts and high natural resource prices. The Campbell government may get a few cheers from the six figure set who reaped the big tax payoff, but most British Columbians have a sense that the gains and the pains were not fairly distributed.”
From monster deficits to monster surpluses: What happened?
By Marc Lee, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
COMMENTARY: September 16, 2004
The recent announcement by Finance Minister Gary Collins that BC is now expected to post a $1.2 billion surplus in 2004/05 caught many by surprise. After all, it was only seven months ago that Minister Collins tabled his first balanced budget, after sky-high deficits the previous three years. What explains this dramatic shift from red to black?
The Minister credits a more robust provincial economy, which he attributes to his government’s economic program – tax cuts, deregulation, privatization. This story would make sense if it were not for the inconvenient fact that it is not true.
The government’s projection for economic (real GDP) growth for 2004 was raised by only a tiny amount in the updated forecast – from 2.8% to 2.9%. This is hardly enough to cause such a major change in the budget’s bottom line.
While the BC economy has definitely recovered from a recession in 2001, it is not exactly “sizzling,” as some recent newspaper headlines have suggested. Economic growth of 2.9% is not spectacular by any kind of historical benchmark. It is a middling growth rate that does not pack the kind of punch needed to substantially expand employment or increase wages.
On the employment front, a low interest rate environment has done more for BC than tax cuts, by stimulating the housing market and residential construction. A hot housing market also increased Victoria’s revenues by $168 million in property transfer taxes.
Employment growth improved in 2003 and 2004, although it is still middle-of-the-road by historical standards. Other employment indicators are little changed from pre-2001 patterns. On a regional basis, most employment gains have been concentrated in the Lower Mainland and Victoria.
Outside of residential construction, new capital investment in machinery and equipment and new facilities – the harbinger of future productivity growth – has been weak. This is a major indictment of the government’s program.
As a result, projections for tax revenues that are directly linked to economic performance, such as personal income tax and sales tax, have increased only slightly since the budget was tabled in February and do not contribute much to the total revenue gain of $1.2 billion. Moreover, personal income tax revenues are still significantly lower than they were in 2001 before the government introduced its tax cuts – meaning that tax cuts have not paid for themselves.
So, where did the big money come from? The budget’s bottom line got a huge boost from rising commodity prices. Lumber prices are close to record highs, up about 50% since budget time. This has meant an additional $375 million in revenues for the BC government.
Natural gas prices are also higher than projected at budget time, for an extra $203 million in revenues. Higher energy and mineral prices added another $117 million in revenues. Together, higher resource revenues account for 60% of the budget’s revenue gain for 2004/05.
Higher revenues have also come as a result of increased federal transfers for health care (up $166 million), and this does not count the new money that will come to BC as a result of the latest federal-provincial health care summit.
BC’s post-secondary students chipped in an additional $95 million above what was expected at budget time due to higher tuition fees. Revenues from student fees are a jaw-dropping $350 million above what was collected back in 2001/02 – before the government lifted the tuition freeze.
What is truly alarming is that even though BC finds itself flush with cash, the $350 million in spending cuts announced at budget time in February have not been reversed. (One exception to this is the budget for forest fires, which is $120 million over its budget of $55 million.)
Since 2001/02, ministries outside health care and education have borne a total spending cut of $1.9 billion. That the government now has a surplus of $1.2 billion tells us that even with the lost revenues from tax cuts, the government could have spared BC the pain of two thirds of these spending cuts and still had a balanced budget this year.
If a large portion of today’s surplus is because yesterday’s spending cuts were too deep, the people who carried the burden of the spending cuts should have dibs on the surplus. This means restoring cuts to child welfare, social assistance, child care subsidies, and environmental protection to name some of the more pressing needs in the province.
The Finance Minister is right that BC is now in a position to make choices about how to disburse the expected surplus. But he is wrong about his government’s economic program. Most of the explanation for the budget surplus comes from factors – low interest rates, high commodity prices, stronger demand for BC exports – that are beyond the control of the provincial government.
This Labour Day – Educate, Agitate, Organize
CUPE; Sept 3, 2004
“These are anxious times in Canada, many social programs are being redefined by the Martin government due to the chronic under funding of the past decades. CUPE believes that there is an opportunity to affect meaningful change to core social programs…”
A lukewarm celebration for Labour Day A union leader says workers deserve respect, but the government is undermining their contributions to British Columbia’s success
Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour
Vancouver Sun – Sept 6, 2004
Labour Day is about respect. It’s about celebrating the achievements of people who work hard, develop tremendous skill and experience and make a vital contribution to the economy. Blue-collar or white, old or young, public or private, it’s working people who keep our province moving.
Unfortunately, the critical importance of work and workers is not always reflected in the actions of employers and governments. Instead of pushing to improve rights and standards at work, many employers actively campaign to lower them. Governments, especially the B.C. Liberals, are only too willing to comply with those demands.
Consider a few of the more telling examples from the last three years: Reducing the minimum wage to $6 an hour, deregulating child labour laws and eroding workplace health and safety standards. These are just some of the ways the B.C. Liberals have translated employer demands into lower legislative standards.
The picture doesn’t get much brighter when it comes to our right to form or join unions. Since taking office, the B.C. Liberals have endorsed most of the legislative demands of employer lobby groups. And what do workers get from that? Horrendous examples of intimidation during legitimate organizing drives.
In one case, an employer used high-tech video equipment to maintain a constant broadcast of anti-union messages during the workday to undermine the organizing drive.
In another case, union organizers were physically assaulted by managers to prevent them from talking to workers.
Since the B.C. Liberals took office, they’ve passed law after law tearing up collective agreements, cutting medical services, closing long-term care beds, boarding up more than 100 schools, eliminating funds for women’s centres — and the list goes on and on and on.
These kinds of tactics speak volumes about a shocking lack of respect in far too many workplaces. But the problem doesn’t stop there. The government’s lack of respect can also be found in our communities, where attacking the most vulnerable people seems to be the priority.
A short list of these attacks includes social service cuts for single parents, pharmacare cuts for seniors, lower wages and higher tuition for students, lower wages and no protection for farm workers, and cuts to services for special needs students.
This government is also abandoning the pride of our past and ignoring the needs of future generations. We see it when it directs BC Hydro to stop building power facilities and buy instead from the private sector. We see it when one-third of BC Hydro is turned over to Bermuda-based Accenture, a move that will only help export more jobs. We see it when the government betrays the public trust by selling BC Rail to CN (we can’t say Canadian National because neither term now applies). We see it when the government reorganizes our vital public ferry system, then hires an American who doesn’t give B.C. shipyards a fair chance to build ferries here. We see it when the government fires trained health care workers and instead brings in foreign companies that employ cheap labour, reducing the quality of health care.
None of this makes any economic sense for B.C.’s long-term economic growth. You simply can’t cut corners and still come out on top.
Working people have every right to be proud of our contribution to building B.C. Our work, wages and determination have created a great province, and the trade union movement has raised our standard of living. While the bargaining table and picket line are fundamental sources of power for working people, we can never forget that workers achieved this power at the ballot box.
On this Labour Day, let’s pledge to continue the fight for justice and fairness for all British Columbians. That means supporting those on the picket line and at the bargaining table. It also means working to prevent the reckless sell-off of our province through continued privatization.
Let’s also work to elect leaders at every government level who will act in the interest of every British Columbian. We can build a better province — a better place to live, learn, work and play that will attract needed investment and talented people. An environment like that fosters respect for everyone, and that’s what it’s all about.
Vancouver City Council is urging the federal government to keep their election promise on child care by immediately passing legislation to begin increased funding in the 2004-2005 budget.
In a recently passed motion, Council is asking Prime Minister Paul Martin to quickly implement the national child care strategy highlighted during his election campaign, which proposes to spend $5 billion over the next five years to create 250,000 new, affordable, high-quality, government-regulated child care spaces.
As well, the Prime Minister is being asked to enshrine in legislation four key principles for a national childcare system: quality, universality, accessibility and developmental programming.
Council is also calling on NDP leader Jack Layton to pursue his campaign promise to work with provinces and territories, and to provide $5.25 billion over the next four years to create 200,000 new child care spaces.
The City of Vancouver is experiencing a crisis in child care caused by provincial cutbacks. The B.C. government cut $27.6 million from last year’s child care budget and reduced child care subsidies by $23 million. The Province used federal funding in previous years as a replacement, rather than a subsidy, for its child care spending.
For the past two years, the City has provided subsidies to protect 600 child care spaces for those families most in need even though child care funding is a provincial and federal responsibility.
The motion is being sent to the municipalities of the GVRD as well as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to encourage them to adopt similar motions in support of quality, regulated and affordable child care for all our children.
The City is also urging all residents to contact their federal representative and the leaders of the Liberal Party and the NDP to remind them to keep the Child Care Promise.
An Administrative Report presented to Vancouver City Council on July 20, 2004 highlights the impacts of the provincial government’s child care cuts on Vancouver caregivers and families. “The growing demand for funding is clearly a result of Provincial funding and policy changes and the historic shortfall of adequate funding for affordable child care.”
For the last 14 years the City of Vancouver’s Civic Childcare strategy, has included Civic Childcare Grants to assist programs in the inner city “that serve a population of high need children and/or low income families”. In 2004, the City’s operating budget includes $886,400 for Civic Childcare grants which were approved to offset the cost of: fees; extra staff; quality enhancement; coordinated administration; and food programs.
A snapshot of this report:
“The growing demand for funding is clearly a result of Provincial funding and policy changes and the historic shortfall of adequate funding for affordable child care.”
“The majority of grant applications for the Inner-City funding were for keeping fees low and for food supplement programs.”
The Inner City Bursary Grants “provide fee assistance to low income families to retain and increase enrollment and bring back families that have left programs due to affordability.”
Program operators articulated a number of challenges particularly those related to subsidy; food and financial viability.
On Subsidy:“The number of families with no subsidy has increased, while the number of families with partial; or full subsidies has decreased.”
A worsening subsidy situation for families and caregivers particularly the delays by the Ministry of Human Resources to finalize authorization for subsidy payments; the requirements that many families must reapply every month or three months; and the loss of the One Stop Access workers who enhanced geographical and linguistic accessibility.
A worsening affordability crisis as the actual costs of child care fees compared to maximum subsidy make it “extremely challenging” for parents seeking quality affordable child care.
On Food:“Inner city child care programs often provide the main daily nutritious meal for children in their care.”
“For the first time this year, programs reported having to use the food bank as a source of food for the hot lunch and snack program.”
On Financial viability:“A number of programs indicated a growing fragility and financial instability.”
The provincial operating grant is tied to enrolment, the detailed administrative reporting does not come with any administrative funding, and the operating grant does not realistically reflect required staffing costs.
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.
Our BC Parent Voices child care month message is a familiar one:
Child care — BC’s children deserve the best!
We have two BC Parent Voices child care month activities:
1. We have a sign to share our message. You can download and print the 8.5×11 sign (PDF) and/or you can request copies of the 11 x 17 sign from us (please send us your name and mailing address).
You can feature our child care message by putting up our BC Parent Voices signs. They will add colour to: a home window (perfect for one that your neighbours can see); a parents’ bulletin board in the child care facility; a bulletin board in your work place; and at your favourite community gathering spots.
2. We have a Mother’s day message to the Premier. You can join us in speaking out — We want to remind him “BC’s children deserve the best child care. We believe BC can afford to give our children the best start!”
You can e-mail him at premier@gov.bc.ca.
Either write your own short message OR
Go to Womenspace web site and click onto “send as a postcard”. Just follow the simple online instructions to create your card. Add your message and send it to premier@gov.bc.ca OR
Mail him a ‘home made’ card OR select a card of your choice and send it to the Premier at:
Room 156, Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
About BC Parent Voices
Over the last two years, we have worked with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, to build a strong BC Parent Voices Network. The Coalition is committed to involving BC parents in child care advocacy efforts and has made support for BC Parent Voices a priority in 2004.
Re: Day care bucks advanced despite reporting lapse [read article below]
CanWest News Service
April 4, 2004
Byline: Norma Greenaway
As Minister Frulla points out, (Ottawa Citizen article, April 4, 2004) the intent of the Multilateral Framework Agreement funding is to enhance access to regulated child care, to create new quality spaces and to make them more affordable for more families. But what about the provincial accountability to the federal government and to the taxpayers when a government cannot be trusted to manage the federal funds?
For the last two years families and child care advocates in BC have raised serious concerns about the significant cuts in spending on licensed and regulated child care in our province. We have pointed out that the BC government is using federal early childhood dollars to replace, rather than add, to provincial child care spending.
The BC Government’s own report shows that while BC received $50 million from the federal government in 2002-2003 for early childhood, the BC government chose to cut $23 million from child care subsidies for low and moderate income families and to use $27.6 million taken from child care and other ECD programs to increase spending on other priorities. The provincial priorities are not improving the affordability, accessibility or sustainability of licensed and regulated child care programs for children, families and child care providers.
It’s clear to us that reporting and new accountability measures between the federal government and the provinces/territories are required to ensure that the BC government cannot continue to misuse federal funds.
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[ The original article ] Day care bucks advanced despite reporting lapse
CanWest News Service
Sun 04 Apr 2004
Byline: Norma Greenaway
Source: CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA – More federal dollars aimed at increasing access to regulated child care began flowing to the provinces this month, even though only two met the requirement to report how past funds were spent on early childhood development.
The lack of reporting beyond British Columbia and Alberta has raised alarm bells among advocates of regulated child care. They say Ottawa shouldn’t send another penny to the other provinces and territories until they detail how early childhood development money is spent.
But the money, a total of $150 million announced in last month’s federal budget, went automatically to the provinces and territories on April 1 as part of the multibillion-dollar transfer of funds for social programs at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
“I think you should have to demonstrate that you did something before you get the money,” says Martha Friendly, co-ordinator of the University of Toronto’s childcare resource and research unit. “The problem (with the bock transfer) is there is no mechanism if the province basically wants to make off with the money for other purposes.”
Friendly is among those pushing the federal government to separate the block transfer into separate funds, earmarking one specifically for early learning and child care.
Federal Social Development Minister Liza Frulla says she is concerned about the reporting gap. The minister said she wrote her provincial and territorial counterparts last week reminding them they were supposed to provide baseline reports on spending on early learning and child care to their populations by last November. Quebec, the only province with a universal child care program, is not part of the multilateral framework agreements on early learning and child care.
On Sunday, Frulla opened a three-day trip to the Maritimes to meet her counterparts and press them to make the reports, and commit to using the new money to enhance access to regulated child care.
Frulla argues that with more than seven in 10 women with children under the age of six now in the workforce, there is intense grassroots pressure on provincial governments to account for how day care dollars are spent.
The budget ramped up child-care spending to $1.050 billion over the five-year program, $150 million more than the Chretien government promised in its last budget last year.
Frulla, who met her Ontario counterparts last week and plans to travel west in May, says she’s giving the provinces and territories the benefit of the doubt because many had recent elections.
Frulla said she wants to use the talks to ensure “we are all committed to child care” and that “the money gets spent the right way.”
Frulla says attaching strings to the money is not the answer because early learning and child care has to be a joint responsibility. The federal government cannot afford to fund a national program on its own so it cannot unilaterally call the shots, she said.
is “strengthening services and programs for women.”
This is what he claims in his “New Era for Women.”
We need to set the record straight!
The truth is that over the last three years, more than $840 million has been cut from the three Ministries with responsibilities for child care, children, women, and families.
Quality child care is not affordable for most BC parents and government cuts, policy changes and restructuring are destabilizing licensed child care.
Premier Campbell says he is interested in community input — Let’s tell him what we know!
Add your voices — Send an e-mail to premier@gov.bc.ca and:
Tell him how BC’s cross ministerial budget cuts are affecting you.
Tell him that if his government is serious about meeting the needs of women and children, he should reverse the cuts, increase provincial child care spending to match previous budgets, and immediately start using the federal child care dollars to supplement, not replace, provincial child care spending.
It’s been more than a decade since the federal Liberal government promised a national child care program to help working parents and ensure quality care in children’s early years.
Since then, the only province to follow through and deliver a universal program has been Quebec. Currently, 40 per cent of the 600,000 regulated child care spaces in Canada are in Quebec.
But even those gains are in jeopardy. The Charest government has moved to increase the cost of Quebec’s $5-a-day child care program – the envy of child care activists across the country – to $7-a-day. And there are concerns the Liberals might move to further erode the program. This, activists say, would be a major setback for children and parents across the country.
The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC and our members across the province send greetings of solidarity to the tens of thousands of Quebec families, child care workers and community activists who are fighting to save the most progressive and only universally accessible child care system in North America.
Quebec’s child care program has been a benchmark for those of us in BC who have worked for over two decades to build a similar system here. Now that our provincial government is waging a direct assault on the limited progress we have achieved to date, we look to Quebec’s family and child care policy as evidence that, when there is political and public will, a universal child care program is possible
We applaud your ability to mobilize parents across Quebec. Their angry response to the government’s plans to erode your system is evidence that when women have access to affordable child care – they value and rely on it.
While our resources are limited, the Coalition is ready and willing to do whatever we can to support your struggle and to protect Quebec’s child care system.
Yours in solidarity,
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC
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La CCABC et nos membres à travers la province envoyons souhaits de solidarité aux dizaines de milliers de familles Québecoises, travailleurs/euses de garde à l’enfance et activistes communautaires qui luttent pour sauver la seule système universale et accessible de garde à l’enfance en Amérique du Nord.
La programme de garde au Quebec a fourni une modèle pour nous autres en Colombie Brittanique qui avons travaillé pour plus que vingt années en essayant à établir une système semblable ici. Maintenant que notre gouvernement provincial est en train d’attaquer directement le progrès limité que nous avons obtenu a date, la politique familiale et de garde à l’enfance du Québec nous montre que quand il ya du volonté publique, une programme universale de garde est possible.
Nous applaudissons vos abilités à mobiliser des parents partout au Québec. Leurs réactions furieuses au plan du gouvernement d’éroder votre système est preuve que quand des femmes on accès à garde pas chère, elles l’utilisent et la chèrissent.
Malgré que nos ressources sont limités, la Coalition est prête et disposée à faire tout ce qu’on peut pour supporter votre lutte et a protéger la système de garde à l’enfance au Québec.
For your information, please share with others who you feel would be interested in “the cause”.
The staff at four child care programs in Campbell River, operated by the CR Child Care Society, with support from their Board of Directors, are planning to suspend services for one day on March 31, 2003. They will mark it as a Day of Mourning for Child Care in BC.
It is hoped that through this, they can draw attention to the loss of hope in the political will to build a system of affordable, regulated, professional child care services that are accessible to all families. The new (April 1, 2003) C-COF (Child Care Operating Funding) ignores the funding needs that were previously acknowledged by the Provincial Government.
Group child care centres face the biggest cuts, and they will be challenged to survive, particularly those for school aged children. For some programs, the future looks grim. Rather than go quietly into that future, they have decided to take pay cuts, they will raise fees, and they will stop for a day and ask, “Take a moment to think about child care. How much do group child care programs mean to you? To our community? To taxpayers? Can we better afford to keep them, or lose them?”
The answers to these questions will shape the future of child care in this province. The voices that must be heard answering, are those of parents, grandparents, employers, educators, municipal politicians . . . No voices means “no problem”.
March 31 was the day chosen because it is the final day of the current funding, and it is the 21st service day in the month. Because people on subsidy can access only 20 days of subsidy each month, they would have to pay for their child care that day anyway, so by scheduling the suspension for this day they will not “lose” any money. The details of that day have yet to be worked out. They may be dependent on whether other programs in the community join the action. They do expect to have staff at each of their facilities to act as information posts.
Are you and the staff at your centre willing to support this idea? We are publicizing the idea in the hope that it will catch on in other communities and that it will be a provincial day of mourning for child care in BC. Together we CAN make a difference!
If you have any ideas or wish to lend support, please let us know. E-mail Kathy Rae at krae@island.net and Joyce McMann at jmcmann@island.net.
