VICTORIA – Families continue to suffer from the Campbell Liberals’ mismanagement of childcare while $20 million supposed to go towards funding childcare sits in the bank, New Democrat Childcare Critic Claire Trevena said today.

“It has been almost five months since the Campbell government gave $20 million to the B.C. Council for Families, which was supposed to be distributed to childcare organisations. Instead, it is now almost the end of September and Minister Reid has provided no indication of how this money will be distributed,” said Trevena, the MLA for North Island.

Under questioning from Trevena in the Legislature last May, Minister of State for Childcare Linda Reid revealed that $20 million in one-time funding was being given to the B.C. Council for Families. Despite repeated requests, no information about how this funding will be distributed has been released.

“It seems like the Minister handed out $20 million in taxpayer dollars and then just walked away, without providing any leadership or direction on how the money should be spent,” said Trevena.

Trevena called on the Minister to explain to those families who are unable to find or to afford childcare why this process has taken so long. She also called on the Minister to explain why the process appears to have no oversight, and why the funding is not going directly into the provision of childcare.

“The B.C. Liberals have cut provincial government funding for childcare by over $50 million since 2001, and the effects are very clear. Wait lists are growing, and more and more families are having problems finding affordable, accessible childcare,” said Trevena.

“The Campbell government seems more than willing to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into cost overruns on a new Convention Centre in Vancouver, but when it comes to the foundation of our society – childcare – they come up empty handed. It’s completely unacceptable.”

Childcare is the subject of seven resolutions at this week’s Union of B.C. Municipalities conference in Vancouver.