Advocates warn of warehouse childcare
Cowichan Valley Citizen
31 Oct 2007
By: Lexi Bainas

Workers in the field of early childhood education are looking fearfully at big changes looming over the horizon in their industry.

Cindy Lise, of Success by Six, said this week that the B.C. Coalition of Child Care Advocates is deeply concerned that "warehouse" operators may move into B.C.

Such child care centres have become common in Australia and feature low-paid employees dressed in similar uniforms.

"People who are trying to help us understand what's going on are calling it 'the Wal-Mart-ization of child care'," she said.

Lise said that provincial money should be going to help small, local operators that are connected to their communities.

"There are so many amazing programs and centres that are operating and have been struggling to survive. It's yet another blow to those who are completely connected to their communities that something like this would happen. All the early childcare educators are just horrified by this news. I think it's going to be quite big."

The news had not been good for child care in recent years and this is just more of the same, according to Lise.

"How many body blows do we have to take? We're reeling. The ability to get back off your knees is getting harder and harder to do. Our number one priority in all Success by Six regions is high quality, affordable child care with adequate spacing and adequate staffing."

Lise said she doesn't have all the information she needs yet on the idea but has heard enough to be concerned.

Mary Dolan, of Duncan's Growing Together Early Child Care Centre, said that looking at Australia's situation is worrisome.

Fees in Australia have skyrocketed since these corporate warehouse operators have moved in, she said.

"It's unbelievable, We knew what was going on in Australia but we've continued to hope it would never happen here, that the government would bring in a national program or that B.C. would use its surplus to bring in a program here to meet this incredible need for both education and care of the young and address the economic needs which are becoming apparent," she said.

A real concern about large, warehouse operations comes when one considers who is responsible for what goes on there, she said.

"What kind of care and education are the children going to get? Who is looking into this, other than early child care advocates? Has Minister Linda Reid looked into it? She's been quoted that she was unaware of this threat. Is she aware now and what's she doing about it? I've been calling her office and the office of the Premier, as an early childhood educator and as a grandmother who's looking to the day when my great grandchildren are going to need quality care. I want it to be there. We've been struggling for 40 years for it."

Both Lise and Dolan said they are deeply concerned that taxpayers money could be going to fill the coffers of huge corporations.

Recent changes to allow some provincial help to small, private operators have simply opened the door to government handing over money to large corporate service providers, some of them based offshore, Dolan said, adding that even the small local centres realize the threat is there. …

Child Care Coalition representative Rita Chudnovsky said on the group's website last week that the push to enter the B.C. market by these outside groups could affect more than 24,000 children in B.C. who are attending for-profit child care facilities. Chudnovsky also said the buyout offers started in mid-September, just two weeks before the B.C. government announced a $12.5 million capital fund to create new child care spaces that will be available to for-profit operations.