Families, help us fight for your children
The Daily News -- Kamloops
January 30, 2007
Opinion -- By: Irene Wende, Cheryl Weatherhead

We are writing to all licensed and certified early childhood educators who provide quality educational preschool for children in this city. They attend professional conferences and update qualifications regularly to provide the best service to the children they work with.

The provincial government has declared early years learning a priority for B.C. but its actions clearly do not indicate that. It is apparent that we are an undervalued profession and it is time for child-care centres to stand up to the government against recent cutbacks it has made.

Two years ago, the federal government came up with a universal child-care plan and each province signed the agreement. This was our first step to seeing that Canada really cared for our children and families.

Once the new federal government was elected, all was kiboshed. We are currently running on a provincial operating funding program which has provided us a very tiny amount per child per day. This works out to about $40 a month per child.

We were able to pass this on to parents in the form of lower rates. Last year, the federal government decided that it would fund each family with a child under six years of age $100 a month. This money was given to parents to help with the costs of child care and provide a choice to parents.

Earlier this month, the provincial government decided to cut the amount of funding from the centres as early as July 1. Unfortunately, centres will need to recover that money by increasing fees, and parents will need to dig further into their pockets if the $100 a month does not cover it.

Child-care centres and preschools cannot possibly cover the cut as we already work for anywhere between $2 and $4 per child per hour. This is trained and certified early childhood educators.

The fee increases will not provide us a raise in any way, shape or form. My daughter makes more than us working at a doughnut shop.

Do you really think that the government wants to add childcare spaces? Do you really think that anyone in their right mind will go into this field? As a matter of fact, with the lack of support that our government is giving our children in the way of families, I wouldn't be surprised if eventually everyone closed their doors. That's what they want -- mothers to stay home. Is that all they are worth: $100 a month?

Do you know about the cuts to the Childcare Resource and Referral (CCRR) programs which directly affect the city of Kamloops? ...

The CCRR in Kamloops is a hub of support for parents who are looking for child-care referrals or needing help with subsidy forms and information. It provides a drop-in centre for parents with young children and supports day cares and preschools with an extensive lending cupboard, seminars and training courses. The impact of losing this centre will be felt throughout all areas of Kamloops. Who will cover these services? Why are we going backwards instead of forwards?

Come on Kamloops families, we need your support. Help us fight for your children. They are at risk. Let's make a statement that shows we value the children and their families, and quality child-care/preschool educators deserve to be recognized and supported for the hard work they do. Please support us in sending a strong message to the provincial government that our children matter.