DNV to lobby for child care funds
North Shore News
18 Apr 2007
By: Andy Prest

District of North Vancouver council has voted to petition the provincial and federal governments in response to the announcement of cuts to child-care programs at both levels of government.

According to a district staff report presented at the April 2 council meeting, the provincial government is decreasing funding to the Child Care Operating Fund, the Child Care Resource and Referral Program, and the Child Care Capital Funding Program.

In addition, the federal government last year discontinued the Liberal-brokered Early Learning and Child Care agreement ....

According to the staff report, families and children in the district could be affected by these cuts as they look for safe, affordable and accessible child care.

In accepting the report, council resolved to call on Premier Gordon Campbell and his government to reallocate revenues to maintain previously agreed upon funding levels; urge the federal government to release details of their forthcoming child-care plan; and release an action plan for a publicly funded child-care system in the province.

"This has been an issue that has been increasingly frustrating for families with children," said Coun. Lisa Muri.

"There always seems to be money, hundreds of millions of dollars, for things like twinning bridges for business and Olympic venues . . . but not for children that are going to be the future of all this business that we're supposed to be benefiting from. I think those are some of the frustrating things that people cannot deal with on a daily basis."

While the resolution passed unanimously, Couns. Mike Little and Robin Hicks both said they were hesitant to make demands of other levels of government.

"I'm going to support this even though I usually get a little bit twitchy when we start telling other levels of government what to do," Little said, arguing that the district should not be in the advocacy business. "There are advocacy agencies that get charitable status, that get tons of funding, that get support from the people that are demanding those lobbying activities. It's just not a role that local government should be plying it's time to."

Muri, however, supported the resolution's advocacy stance. "I've never been one to be afraid of other levels of government," she said. "I challenge them to step up to the plate and look after the future."