Crowder, NDP pushing for more cash for childcare
Cowichan Valley Citizen
25 May 2007
By: Andrea Rondeau

More federal money and committment for childcare could be on the way with the recent passage of second reading of the NDP's Early Learning and Child Care Act and appraisal by the Standing Committee on Human Resources and Social Development.

"It's huge," said Nanaimo-Cowichan MP Jean Crowder of this latest step.

The "landmark" bill is one she has been fighting for, and it will now go to the House of Commons for a vote.

"We fully expect it to pass," Crowder said.

A positive vote, she said, is significant because it will signal that a majority of MPs, of all political stripes, want a National Childcare system.

"It will put an enormous amount of pressure on the Conservative government to listen to Canadians on this," Crowder said.

The vote is expected to come in the next few weeks, she said, but could be delayed by current procedural games being played that can effect how long the House is sitting.

The bill would require greater accountability from the provinces for any money transferred to them for childcare from the federal government.

Such legislation is needed, Crowder said, because in the past they have seen a several million dollar federal transfer for childcare given to B.C., and the number of childcare spaces actually be cut back.

It would likely also mean new money going to the provinces for childcare, she said.