Sick of the party line
Cariboo Press -- Salmon Arm Observer
June 6, 2007
Letters -- Kari Wilkinson
Child care: Writer looks to governments for action on issue.

An open letter to Colin Mayes, Conservative MP and George Abbott, Liberal MLA:

I am writing this in response to the recent child-care forum held in Salmon Arm.

Present were Colin Mayes, Roxena Goodine - representative for George Abbott and several concerned parents.

I look at child care from three perspectives - as a parent, a business owner and president of Shuswap Daycare Society. I attended the meeting in hopes we could communicate the growing need for quality, affordable child care in Salmon Arm and find some solutions.

Currently there are over 500 kids on waiting lists in Salmon Arm (according to Shuswap Childcare Referral Centre). I've looked at the help wanted sections in the classifieds, and businesses are having a hard time finding staff. Salmon Arm is not unique and I can assure you, the same problem exists in many other communities across Canada.

I listened patiently to the "party rhetoric" spewing forth. The federal government is passing the buck to the provincial government and vice versa. This is not going to solve any problems.

Furthermore, when I stated how insulted I was about Mr. Mayes' recent comments printed in the Salmon Arm Observer about the problems that would arise if day-care centres were too accessible or inexpensive, Mr. Mayes stated I must have misinterpreted him.

Here it is as quoted April 18 on page A3, "If you make it less expensive, it's an enticement to put children in the care of someone else... More parents will use it, so people won't know how to parent anymore."

I'm not sure how I can interpret this bit of insight as anything but an insult to working parents.

Reality is that two incomes are needed to maintain the costs of running a household, and God help you if you're a single parent making a minimal wage. Our respective governments need to get in touch with the reality facing most Canadians today. I've been told again and again how much money they are saving on our behalf by the amount of tax cuts being made - personally I haven't noticed.

What I have noticed is that day-care fees have gone up considerably due to the operating grants cut by the federal government. Paying $650 to $900 a month for one child in full-time daycare is not what I consider to be affordable.

There are not enough day-care spaces in Salmon Arm. Requests to have unborn children placed on day-care wait lists indicates how desperately we need childcare spaces.

I am grateful for the level of care my daughter receives at Shuswap Daycare. Without it I wouldn't be able to keep my business open, employ additional staff and provide my clients with the services they require to maintain and grow their businesses.

I implore our governments to stop wasting time arguing and start coming up with some realistic solutions.