Business turns eye to child care, transportation; Regional chambers of commerce push issues onto provincial agenda
Trail Daily Times
March 26, 2008
By: Art Harrison

Regional chambers of commerce are concerned a lack of child-care spaces and limited rural transportation options are going to start to impact business.

With a shrinking workforce and some area businesses already struggling to find new employees, local chamber reps are determined to keep these issues on the provincial government's agenda.

At a recent meeting in Rossland, the regional chambers of commerce identified these as two critical areas that could have negative effects on the business community.

A lack of affordable spaces, fewer qualified child-care workers, and a reduction in post-secondary programs to train new child-care workers signals a looming crisis for businesses hoping to attract parents of young children as potential employees.

"The number one problem in early learning and care right now is the huge shortage of workers," said Rebecca Stirling, an early childhood educator in Rossland.

"The government provides start-up costs for spaces and is creating the First Start drop-in centres in the schools but this does nothing for working families."

Stirling feels the low wages in B.C. compared to other provinces make it increasingly hard to recruit and retain employees.

"I moved here from Ontario and there the government enhances the wages by almost $4 an hour," Stirling said. "And yet the cost of living is higher here in B.C."

However, she feels some encouragement that the issue is being taken up by the business community.

"This is absolutely an H.R. (human resource) problem," Stirling said. "I have parents who cannot go back to work because of a lack of child care."

Trail's Sue Bock, director at large for the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, acknowledges this may seem an unusual focus for the business community.

"Child care used to be considered more of a social issue but business is saying that lacking a child-care policy could affect the labour shortage," Bock said. "We can't afford to be in separate camps anymore."

The regional group first began working on the issue at last year's B.C. Chamber AGM, introducing a resolution recognizing the effect that child care has on the viability of businesses….