Why are we settling for less?
Times Colonist (Victoria)
23 June 2006
Comment -- By: Tronie Brown, Director and Teacher, Nightingale Preschool and Junior Kindergarten
EXCERPT

Re: "B.C. native children dying at a striking rate," June 21.

What are the gaps between the vision of what the government Aspires for child care and the reality?

Early childhood services in British Columbia could be described as fragmented, patchy, underfunded, undervalued and, in far too many cases, of poor quality.

Those of us in the know feel we may be on the brink of losing the whole point of the last 11 years' struggle, just when we thought we were about to create a remarkable system of high-quality care.

What we see now put forward by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, $1,200 a year for each child under six, is a second-class Service for the youngest and most vulnerable section of our population.

Under the Liberals' national day-care plan, over a five-year Period B.C. was to receive $633 million. In March 2007, $450 million will be lost in the system.

The government's initiative to allocate money directly to Parents and to provide more day-care spaces doesn't alter the fact that many day cares are understaffed, undervalued and underpaid; $10 to $15 an hour is not a professional wage….

We should not settle for less.