Child-care cuts raise fear: Federal plan to cut funding has workers and parents raising concern
Burnaby Now
09 Dec 2006
By: John Kurucz
EXCERPT

Local child-care workers and parents alike are preparing for the worst in light of the Conservative government's plan to cut $5 billion in child-care funding over the next five years.

The Tory government is looking to eliminate the plan set forth by the previous minority Liberal government, one that would have transferred $5 billion to the provinces and territories for early learning and child care. ...

The cancellation of those funds affects B.C. to the tune of $455 million. The planned federal cuts are slated to go into effect on March 31, 2007 and the provincial government has committed funding until June 2007.

The Burnaby Association for Community Inclusion, and parents with children at each of its five child-care centres, will absorb the brunt of those cuts.

"This is a very scary situation for us," said the association's co-executive director, Richard Faucher.

The Burnaby-based non-profit organization works with children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities, providing services such as infant development, childcare, adult day programs, and advocacy.

The association stands to lose about $200,000 a year, money that is vital for covering operational costs such as paying staff, rent, upkeep and utility payments.

The worst-case scenario is that each of the five childcare centres will be forced to shut its doors. At the very least, rates and waitlists will skyrocket.

Close to 130 children and families who use the five centres will be affected by the cuts, but the problem runs deeper.

"There's such an urgent need for quality childcare in Burnaby that we have 120 families on the waitlist," said Carol Broomhall, the association's manager of communications and resource development. "This is such a huge issue from so many different perspectives. It affects the health of our children and women contributing in the work force. This is about the future leaders of our country."

Critics of the Tory plan argue that it flies in the face of Canada's public health care system and that $1,200 per year is nowhere near the amount needed to help offset childcare costs.

Aside from children, women in particular will be affected by the proposed cuts.

"It's typically women who stay at home with their children if a family doesn't have access to the proper care," Broomhall said. "These cuts will have a ripple effect on business and women in the labour force."

The province also stands to lose out on $16 million in federal money that is allocated towards helping children with developmental disabilities. Those funds normally go towards support staffing and child development consultants, and Broomhall said 10 to 15 per cent of kids at the five centres would be affected.

Jennifer Baumbusch's four-year-old daughter Ellanore has been attending Fair Haven Childcare Centre for two years. As a special needs child, the cuts stand to seriously impair Ellanore's ability to interact with other children and receive one-on-one care.

"For parents who have kids with special needs children these cuts are a double whammy," she said. "It's not like you can take these kids from such a stimulating learning environment and leave them with a babysitter."

Baumbusch is in the process of attaining her PhD in nursing at UBC and does consulting work on the side to help supplement her family's income.

Should the cuts go through, the timeline Baumbusch had set for finishing her education will be in disarray. She or her husband will likely have to become a full-time stay-at-home-parent, and her ability to attain work will be jeopardized.

"I can't plan anything for the future, and I won't be able to find more work," she said. "We're always thinking about how we will plan for the inevitable. It's very stressful, and there's a huge level of anxiety. We will have to find other ways to manage."...

"Parents are pretty worried about the future of our centre," said the centre's supervisor Stacey Kessler. "They're pretty frustrated with this government and they don't want to see our staff lose any more of their wages. What they want is consistency and stability."

The centre's monthly cost for infant/toddler care is $990 per child, while care for children in the three to five age bracket costs $665 per month.

"Fee increases will have to make for the cuts that coming," Kessler said. "Parents are fed up the $100 a month they receive. They think it's ridiculous."

The centre employs 11 staff members, three of which are part time, while two work specifically with special needs children. Kessler said she has seen qualified child care workers leave the profession entirely as a result of government cuts.

"A lot of early childhood educators are getting discouraged. I know there are less people entering the field and others who are looking at their future and moving on to something else," she said.

The centre's waitlist for the infant/toddler program is currently at two years, a time frame that will likely skyrocket if the cuts are made.

"I have desperate people calling me all the time and they don't know what to do," Kessler said. "Proper care needs to be accessible for everyone."

Kessler said that having kids with special needs integrated into environments alongside other children helps both groups involved.

"Early intervention allows these kids to grow and develop with other young children," Kessler said. "And it really helps kids without developmental disabilities learn about social acceptance tolerance and friendship."

The proposed cuts have been the topic of recent conversation in the House of Commons as the NDP has put forth Bill C-303, the Early Learning and Child Care Act.

The measure seeks to protect and ensure nation-wide child-care standards while guaranteeing that tax dollars be earmarked for childcare are invested in not-for-profit centres....