Community child care is facing a crisis
Cariboo Press -- Kelowna Capital News
January 26, 2007
By Eve Layman

Letters To the editor:

If you thought child care was hard to find now, putting your name on a waitlist for child care two years in the future may seem short compared to what it could be this spring. Flying grandparents from Edmonton to Kelowna to watch over your children may seem like a bargain to those without family members to lean on.

The death of the Child Care and Resource Referral program will have consequences that range from parents quitting their jobs as they can no longer afford child care, to unregulated child care becoming the norm for many stressed parents.

This is not the situation that we want for our children. We are supposed to raise our children by giving them choice in daily life-- from choosing their clothes, their bedtime stories and their snacks (within reason). Parents deserve choice too, the choice to place their children with someone they trust while they work and keep our economy ticking along.

The CCRR replacement of $100 a day from the federal government is not a choice; it is literally passing the buck. CCRR helps parents find child care they trust, support providers with outreach and training and provide the community with a valuable resource.

Forty-six per cent of the work force is female; the number of working mothers with children under 6 is 71 per cent. If parents can't work, employers won't be able to either. This affects all of us. Why are there cuts to the very thing that this community has identified as in crisis? We need to let our voices be heard.