City supports fight against child-care cuts
Trail Daily Times
January 30, 2007
By: Kate Skye and Lana Rodlie

Three local child-care advocates have the support of the City of Trail when it comes to telling the province that slated program cuts are unacceptable. "Cuts to child care will affect our agencies and the families who need them," said Gail Lavery of FAIR.

Lavery, along with Sue McIntosh and Lynn Proulx, were in city council chambers last week asking the city for support.

The budgets of Child Care Resource and Referral programs around the province will be cut by 36 per cent on April 1, and axed by Sept. 30. The province says it will replace the existing $14-million program with a $3-million mandate that has yet to be figured out.

The women suggested council make a resolution to send to the Union of B.C. Municipalities.

Trail councillor Gord DeRosa said they would get more mileage out of sending the issue first to the Association of Kootenay Boundary Municipalities.

"They would adopt it and it would go to UBCM. I doubt a resolution would fail."

Councillor Al Graham said it is imperative Trail council do something right away. He suggested council will send a letter to the premier, asking the B.C. government to reconsider the cuts.

"These are children . . . in a province with such a terrible rate of child poverty," he said.

Councillor Robert Cacchioni suggested the women let school trustees know about the situation.

"They will be a key factor in extraction or expansion. They'll feel it in a whole number of ways in the schools. I see parents on a daily basis who are stressed over child care," he said.

Parents and child-care educators around the province are in an uproar over news of the cuts and some are calling for the resignation of Linda Reid, Minister of State for Child Care. She announced the cuts last month. West Kootenay-Boundary MLA Katrine Conroy described the cuts as "appalling."

"Further cuts and attacks to a sector that has struggled and been underfunded for far too long have child-care providers extremely worried and families devastated," she said. "The minister's suggestion that parents make up the funding, once again shows the minister's total disregard for the needs of families in rural B.C."

Closing CCRRs has a direct economic spinoff as parents scramble to find affordable quality child care so they can stay employed or further their education, she added.

Sunshine Children's Centre will have to increase parent fees dramatically, said manager Lynn Proulx.

"Operating cuts work out to $12,200 per year loss at Sunshine. St. Mike's and Fruitvale out-of-school programs will be cut to zero. They will have to close down or we will have to increase fees significantly."

Stephen Harper's Universal Child Benefit of $100 per month, which replaces the federal early learning transfer dollars, is an insult, Proulx said.

CCRR programs provide support and training to child-care providers, child-care referrals for parents, and assistance to parents seeking access to child-care subsidies, drop-in play groups, toy-lending libraries and more. The province is blaming the federal government for the cuts, saying the cancellation of the federal early learning child-care dollars means the province can't continue with present funding levels.

Conroy will meet with parents and caregivers on Thursday at the CCRR office in Trail at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the impact on local families.