Parents urged to keep pressing on childcare
Cowichan Valley Citizen
06 Apr 2007
By: Andrea Rondeau

Keep up the pressure on government -- the children desperately need the funding.

That was the prevailing message from an open community meeting Tuesday night where parents, childcare workers, politicians and community members gathered to discuss the problems facing the childcare sector following millions of dollars in provincial and federal cuts, and what action can be taken to reverse the drop in dollars.

"Your child, as part of this community, deserves the best," Mary Dolan, of the Growing Together Childcare Centre, told the crowd. "It's time now. Let's make it happen.

Linda Reid, provincial minister responsible for childcare, announced funding cut a in early January.

The province has blamed the cuts on the cancelling of a federal agreement by the Conservative government.

However, childcare advocates say B.C. can afford to make up the difference.

Dolan told the crowd that B.C. is the only province in Canada that is reducing funding to early learning following the federal cuts.

She was also critical of the Conservative's childcare plan....

Parents trying to pay fees for childcare say that's a drop in the bucket, and doesn't come close to paying the childcare bill, which can sometimes amount to as much as a family pays in rent.

Michelle Lefebure is one such parent.

She told of her struggle to make ends meet following her move with her son from Ontario to B.C.

A dental assistant in Ontario, she cannot work in her chosen field here because B.C. doesn't recognize her qualifications, so she has wound up working part-time for just over minimum wage. She recently had to turn down a full-time position because, when she calculated what it would cost her to put her son in childcare full days, it worked out that she would actually be earning less than $1 per hour.

There are many parents like her, Lefebure said, and with the economics of it, there is no incentive for them to work.

"You're really left with no options," she said. "You can't get ahead in life."

Kathy Weismiller, of the Arcadian Daycare Centre, said parents have very few choices as childcare centres can't keep up with demand.

"If your child is under three, you're pretty much out of luck," she said of the chances of finding licenced daycare.

She's been in the field for over 20 years, she said, and it's a constant struggle making-do in programs and fundraising.

Low wages, Weismiller said, make it hard to recruit and retain qualified workers, which in turn limits the number of spaces available.

Nanaimo-Cowichan MP Jean Crowder, a proud new grandmother, told how her son and his wife have not been able to find childcare.

It's disheartening, she said, to remember back to the 1970s when she and others held meetings on the exact same subject.

"Who would have thought we'd be here talking about childcare for our grandchildren?" Crowder said.

Over 70 per cent of women work outside the home, she said. "Do the math."

She urged people to keep the subject on the agenda with letters, phone calls and petitions to all levels of government.

"We need to keep our issues and concerns in the forefront," agreed facilitator Cindy Lise. She said some things planned include a walk-run from Campbell River to Victoria, which is being organized for the fall.

Some at the meeting seemed interested in gathering a list of people, then having two or three from the list call the provincial and federal offices of the ministers responsible for childcare each day, to both prove a strong constituent voice and to increase pressure for action.