Tembec, child care reps make appeals at public hearing; Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services stops in Cranbrook as part of its tour
The Daily Townsman (Cranbrook)
10 Oct 2007 
By: Gerry Warner

A shortage of child care spaces in the East Kootenay, the dire state of the lumber industry, post secondary education funding and the need to harmonize the GST and PST taxes were just a few of the issues raised at a government all-party hearing in Cranbrook Tuesday.

The hearing of the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services was held at the College of the Rockies (COTR) and chaired by East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett.

In an interview between presentations, Bennett said people shouldn't underestimate the importance of the committee's province-wide hearings.

"During these hearings last year, three or four of the committee's recommendations were accepted by government and appeared in the 2007 budget so it's not fair to say these hearings are a waste of time."…

Meanwhile Kathy Bonell, a member of the East Kootenay Childcare Coalition said the number of childcare spaces available in the East Kootenay has fallen from 1,650 in October 2001 to 1,144 in November 2006.

In an interview after she made her presentation, Bonell said the situation is preventing skilled women from being able to work because they can't find care for their children.

"We are really in a crisis. If child care isn't accessible it doesn't matter if you have a job because you need to have child care in order to work."

Bonell said child care facilities have closed in the East Kootenay because of regulatory changes, government cutbacks, a shortage of trained employees and expensive start-up costs. Start up costs range from $1,500 per space for licensed out of school care to $8,583 per space for licensed group child care.

Most mothers prefer licensed, regulated care for their children, but when they can't get that resort to unregulated and unlicensed babysitters. The East Kootenay currently has 814 licensed and regulated childcare spaces in the region but needs 3,806.

The cost of providing the additional spaces would be close to $14 million, Bonell said.

In response, Bennett said Bonell's presentation was "very compelling," adding the Province recently announced a $12.5 million capital funding program to creation more licensed child care spaces in B.C.

"There's no doubt this is a problem all over the province and part of the problem is the hot job market which means people can go out and make more money pounding nails or working in the service industries instead of in day care." …