Opposition's Raising B.C. tour discussing problems, solutions
NDP raise child-care concerns
Vancouver Island News Group - Nanaimo News Bulletin
March 15, 2008

Cynthia Paul had to wait two years to get her daughter into child care.

"As soon as she was born, I had her on the wait list," said Paul.

A single mom, she buses from Lantzville with her two-year-old daughter to the Jolly Giant infant and toddler care centre in south Nanaimo because she wanted quality care and couldn't find anything closer.

New mother Ali White also struggled finding care for her one-year-old daughter. Out of a long list of providers, White found some centres weren't up to her standards while others were just full.

"I went through a whole slew of daycare providers," she said. "There just wasn't anybody available."

White was on the waiting list for three months at Jolly Giant and got in initially only on Fridays.

"Eventually, you have to go back to work," she said.

The two mothers spoke to NDP child care critic Claire Trevena during her Raising B.C. tour launched this week.

Over the next few months, Trevena is talking with care providers, parents and advocates about how to build a provincial program that will ensure all families have access to affordable, quality child care….

"One is money - money to lift wages," said Trevena. "The other is to ensure the fees aren't being downloaded on the parents. The subsidy system isn't working, it's extraordinarily bureaucratic and it puts people off applying."

Paul, who qualifies for the subsidy, has been unemployed since September and was informed she'll be cut off in two months if she doesn't find a job.

White said her family, while not qualifying for the subsidy, finishes the month with about $50 in their pockets.

John Wilson … said the infant/toddler centre has eight vacant spaces because of staff shortages.

"I see the government wasting a lot of money and lack of staff," he said. "The government is pouring money into the creation of new spaces when we don't have the staff to fill the existing ones."

Wilson said if he could hire more staff with Early Childhood Education certification, he would open up another 40 spaces…. He pays ECE staff $13 to $15 on average.

Erica Linfitt, a support worker for Nanaimo Child Development Centre, said many people she graduated with have left the industry for higher paying jobs elsewhere….