Child care needs funding
The Record (New Westminster)
February 7, 2007
Editorial

The federal government's decision to slash funding to provincial day-care programs has just come home to roost, making the misguidedness of the move abundantly apparent.

With the $455-million cut to British Columbia's share taking effect March 31, the Campbell Liberals have been forced to claw back subsidies to day cares across the province, and they have capped the number entitled to receive what's left.

Those that survive the funding cuts will likely have to raise already substantial fees, and the odds of new facilities opening or expanding has just plummeted. With prices already exorbitant and waitlists staggering, it is hard to imagine what Ottawa is thinking. The Conservatives say their $100-per-month universal child-care benefit will make up the difference, but it won't go very far toward costs of $1,000 or more monthly, and it won't create new spaces.

What's more, the benefit is not directed at those who need it most. The program is universal, meaning an affluent family that can afford to have one parent at home will receive the same benefit as a single mom on minimum wage. It's hardly well-targeted help.

The Conservatives seem to believe government cutbacks are the only way to lubricate an economy. But accessible day care is integral to our fiscal health.

Crippling it will only take more parents out of the work force - hardly a good thing for an economy.

The government must learn to think before it acts, because it is ultimately our children who are paying the price.