Child care funding cuts will make Valley's labour shortage worse
The Daily Courier (Vernon)
February 5, 2007
Letters -- By: Barb Duffy

In the coming months, employers in the Okanagan are going to be facing a serious labour crisis. Many of their employees with young children will be making a decision about whether they can continue to work in the face of increases in their child care costs of a minimum of a $150.

These increases are the result of the federal Conservative initiative to put some of parents' own tax dollars back into the hands of families, so they can make a decision about how they choose child care.

Even with this money (after tax, about $70 a month), the majority of parents with children under the age of six need to work. If they're lucky, they'll find quality child care, provided by a trained educator in a facility inspected to ensure it meets fire and health standards, offers educational programs and that no employees have criminal records. If not, they'll be forced to choose unlicensed care, which with the upcoming closure of the Kelowna Resource and Referral program, will be unmonitored for even minimum standards.

The Conservative decision ... has given the provincial government "permission" to stop funds used to support working parents, and to not replace them - they just blame it on the federal government.

This means that centres must compensate for lost funds by raising fees to parents, so that they more closely reflect what it costs to offer child care.

Child care workers can't subsidize lower parent fees any further by accepting any lower wages - earning an average of $12 per hour, they can barely afford to live in Kelowna themselves.

If employees can't afford the resulting increased costs of child care, they won't be showing up for work come July. Let your elected officials (Linda Reid, Provincial Minister for Early Childhood and Ron Cannan, Conservative MP) know that you don't want to lose your employees because they can't find good child care, nor can they afford what it costs.