Groups fear Tory plan
By Mike Youds
The Kamloops Daily News
21 Mar 06

EXCERPT

Local child-care advocates say the federal Conservative government needs to spell out plans to replace the program introduced by its Liberal predecessor.

Vi-Anne Zirnhelt, executive director of the Children's Circle Daycare Society, said Monday she is not opposed to the Tory proposal of a lump sum, $1,200 payment to parents of children but wants to see the existing program maintained.

"Basically, the national child-care program, that's a matter of trust," Zirnhelt said. "This was signed and we're asking (Prime Minister Stephen Harper) to honour it. What we're saying is keep the agreement in place as well."

Zirnhelt, who also serves as chairwoman of the area branch of the Early Childhood Educators of B.C., was asked to respond to a study on the issue prepared by YWCA Canada.

The report states that more women will have to stay home in the absence of the increased day-care spaces made available under the five-year Liberal program.

"The problem is, we can't get the details on how Mr. Harper's plan is going to work," Zirnhelt said....

More than two-thirds of Canadian women with a child under the age of six are in the workforce, said Paulette Senior, CEO of YWCA Canada. Forcing them to return home because they can't afford child-care costs is an issue of equal rights, she said.

"While all family members are affected, women pay a disproportionate price when quality child care is not available," she said. Senior also believes there is a need for the Tory family allowance and the Liberal subsidy program.

Canada's child-care industry is currently engaged in a letter-writing campaign seeking a response from the prime minister, Zirnhelt said.

The difficulty with the Tory plan is in the arithmetic. Parents who earn up to $38,000 annually are currently eligible for a day-care subsidy of up to $650 a month.

"How is $1,200 a year going to cover that cost? How is that going to affect the way that child care operates now? So we have huge concerns."

Val Janz, general manager of Make Children First, a community initiative promoting healthy development of children, said the Tory proposal is aimed at making a child-care subsidy more widely accessible. The Tory plan will benefit stay-at-home parents as well as those in the workforce.

However, the proposed sum would represent only a fraction of the actual cost, especially when it comes to infant care, which is the most costly.

"One hundred dollars a month will do nothing, particularly if we're encouraging women to get back into the workforce," Janz said.

While the Tory proposal was raised at a federal election forum in Kamloops, the issue has not been pursued enough by the provincial government, Janz feels.

"Children's issues are always at the bottom of the pot unfortunately," she said. "It's just sad."...