Carbon tax to cover all B.C. fuels
Relief needed on child care
Vancouver Island News Group - Ladysmith Chronicle
February 26, 2008
Opinion

VICTORIA - The B.C. government will collect an estimated $1.8 billion over the next three years from a new "carbon tax" on all fossil fuels, but Finance Minister Carole Taylor vows it will all be given back to individuals and businesses….

Doing more to support working families and providing more resources during the critical first five years of life is commendable.

But the wisdom of the government's plan to spend a year researching at least one of their ideas is questionable.

The throne speech announced a new agency focused on early childhood learning. Among the ideas floated were expanding the hours of kindergarten classes from half day to full day.

Currently, kids begin their journey through the public school system at age five.

That first foray into formalized education consists of half a day of semi- structured play. It's a great system for stay-at-home parents or working moms and dads in jobs with flexible hours. It takes considerably more work for the majority of working parents who can't schedule their workday around their kids.

For these parents, the struggle begins once maternity leave ends. It adds up to a considerable crunch of kids trying to find room in care programs.

We think the province needs to act on its plan and introduce full-time kindergarten sooner than later.

A little more controversial is the idea of lowering the age of admission to three years old. Under the government's plan, four-year-olds would be eligible for full-time kindergarten in 2010, with three-year-olds able to join them in 2011.

There are plenty of questions about the benefits of lowering the age for entry into the school system. A government study might help answer some of these, or it might just lead to an endless chain of reviews and reports….