Daycares should be funded by taxpayers
Times Colonist (Victoria)
02 Nov 2007
Letters: Michelle Kirby, Victoria

The Fernwood Infant/Toddler Centre is facing closure. There are not enough qualified staff to fill the positions available. High-quality care spaces for children under age three are particularly scarce.

It's time for all levels of government to stop pretending that their child-care strategies are working. Kids are suffering because their parents are stressed financially and emotionally by the daycare shortage.

If parents cannot work, children suffer further by a drop in their standard of living and additional economic stress on the family. I believe that the child-care shortage is a factor in B.C.'s child poverty level -- the worst in Canada.

It's time for government to wake up and hear what Canadians have been saying for decades. We want a publicly funded, high-quality child-care system.