Child care cutbacks will hurt 100 Mile House
By Christopher Cain
Free Press staff
Feb 07 2007

"I'm appalled by it."

The words of NDP Childcare Critic, Claire Trevena, in response to the Liberal's recent announcement that all Child Care Referral and Resource (CCRR) centres across B.C. will have their funding cut by the end of September. "It's really very worrying what's happening to child care across the province," said Trevena, who was in 100 Mile House, Feb. 1 to address the looming closures with child care workers and employees from both the CCRR and the Women's Centre.

"The impact in 100 Mile is going to be huge," she said.

"People really rely on the Child Care Resource Referral Centre. Child care providers rely on it for training, for information, for assistance, for resources. Parents rely on it for assistance in getting subsidies, or getting information. It's a central part of the community."

The sense of frustration was clearly evident among all who attended the Thursday morning meeting at the Cariboo Family Enrichment Centre. One child care provider said the CCRR has become a "lifeline" to her for a variety of reasons, such as providing support, resources, courses and materials, to name but a few.

"Without the safety net of CCRR," she said, "our community is at risk." ... Trevena said the CCRR programs across B.C. worked very well, even before federal funding came into being. Further to that, the province is operating in the black.

"We've got a surplus. If the government really cared about children, about literacy, about education and about working families, they'd be putting money into child care."

Trevena, the North Island MLA, will take the findings from her province-wide tour into the legislature, when it reconvenes in mid-February. She'll be pressing Reid on the closures.

"It's an attack on working families because if you want to go to work and you've got a child, you need child care," Trevena said. "It seems very blinkered, it's an attack on the economy. You've got skilled people who can't go to work because they can't find child care. It's ridiculous."

Funding will be reduced at all CCRRs on April 1 and suspended completely by Oct. 1.

Cariboo South MLA Charlie Wyse was also present at the meeting. He is totally perplexed at the government's decision to cut child care funding. "I find it mind-boggling that Minister Reid will be spending $60,000 to shut down a program here in the greater 100 Mile area rather than leaving the funds so that they can continue operating," said Wyse.

The Critic for Municipal Affairs noted that the provincial government, last year, encouraged CCRR programs to expand. In less than a year, he said, the Liberals are telling them to shut down.

"Once more, areas like 100 Mile are under attack for the provision of support services for vulnerable people," said Wyse.

"In addition, the reduction of child care spaces puts additional pressures on workers being able to find the care that they need to remain in the workforce."

The feisty MLA added the fight to save child care services has just begun.