Chambers bring regional child care and transportation
Cariboo Press - Castlegar News
April 30, 2008

Chambers of commerce from across the region met in Rossland to ensure the key issues facing local businesses in the region will be addressed at the BC Chamber of Commerce AGM in May in Whistler.

Representatives of these chambers identified child care and rural transportation as issues that must be addressed by the provincial government to enhance the economic prosperity of communities, the region and the province.

Chambers in the region have elevated childcare to the top of the agenda for the provincial business community. This has led to initiatives around funding, as well as initiatives to enhance employment and recruitment in the child care field.

One year after the historic BC Chamber of Commerce resolution on Child Care was passed unanimously at the Chamber's 2007 Annual General Meeting, the business community is once again calling on the Provincial Government to develop and implement a comprehensive Child Care Strategy for BC. To neglect this issue is to neglect a major factor that will help address province-wide labour shortages. The ability to recruit and retain working parents in all industry sectors is underpinned by their ability to secure quality child care. A comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Child Care System in BC is critical to staying competitive in today's global economy.

The reality of our world today is that parenting is just part of a host of responsibilities required in a family. If both parents work then the issue of child care is critical. The need for child care in a single working parent family is an essential service. Given this reality the ability of parents to access quality, affordable child care has become an issue of critical importance to families and the businesses that rely on these workers.

The BC government's current funding strategies do not allow child care providers to create sustainable business plans for the future. The costs of this decision are having an enormous, negative impact on the ability of BC businesses to attract women, young families and skilled workers, in general, to the workforce.

With the current skills shortage, attracting and retaining employees is more and more critical to a business' success. The provincial breakdown of business shows that of the 378,700 businesses in BC, 159,800 have fewer than 50 employees. For small businesses, it is difficult to attract new workers or to retain staff, as larger firms are able to offer higher pay, better benefits and/ or flexible work arrangements.

Many younger families find the challenge of balancing family life with work to be overwhelming. These men and women find entry or lower level wages and the costs of child care are such that it is not in their financial interests to work. This is a limitation to the BC economy when a worker that desires to contribute to the GDP is forced to look at other options to working.

The Chamber understands that for many people, the decision regarding returning to work or remaining in the workforce is a consideration of the net economic benefit of working versus the income loss associated with remaining at home. For working parents, the cost of child care can be a major factor in this equation.

While the Provincial Government has a child care subsidy program in place, the current application form is difficult to understand, and not applicable to low literacy levels. In fact, many families cannot complete the form without assistance. There is confusion about who qualifies to apply for and the amount of subsidy that would be received. Ultimately these are barriers that make the current subsidy program inequitable for BC families and lead to delays and frustration. And for some families, the subsidy received would not make returning to or remaining in the workforce a financially practical choice. The federal Child Care Benefit of $100 per month per child under 6 is often cited as making the difference for these families. However, the Benefit will only support 2.5 days of care per month at the $5 per hour rate typically charged by licensed child care centres, and many families will also have to pay taxes on that benefit. As well, the Benefit allotment does not include children over 6 who also need after school or weekend care.

Child care operating funds for children 3- 5 years of age have also been affected with an average roll-back of approximately $2 per enrolled child per day or $40 per month. Since the cuts of 2007, most facilities have been faced with either closure, staff cutbacks (affecting spaces), staff wage reductions and/or increased fees to parents.

Our Child Care Referral and Resource Centers (CCRRs) which provide support, advocacy, and education to child care operators and families have had their budgets significantly cut. These cuts curtailed the CCRRs' ability to provide the support services dictated by government. The cuts also resulted in staff reductions and reduced resources.

The last key factor needing to be addressed is the lack of qualified child care workers. With an average provincial wage rate as low as $10 an hour without benefits, many workers have left the industry to seek better paying professions. Meanwhile, potential workers are hesitant to commit to training. To earn an Early Childhood Educator certificate requires at minimum, that students complete a one year program, but many colleges offer additional training and semesters for students wanting to enhance their basic training with special needs and infant toddler training. Yet the wage rate offered is hardly reflective of this educational investment. In short, potential students are rightfully reluctant. In response to low enrolment, most colleges have reduced their training programs to part-time or eliminated the training program altogether. The current urgent staffing shortage has become a crisis and licensed facilities are unable to maintain minimum staffing levels. So even if more spaces are created, BC does not have enough qualified workers to care for the children.

The Chamber believes that within the industry a danger exists that government programs can have an impact on the ability of private sector employers to recruit staff. As such The Chamber believes it is critical that government not compete with private operations through programs that pay higher wages to the employees and charge the parents lower fees

"The Chambers in the region must be congratulated for the role they have played in moving this issue to the forefront of the provincial policy agenda," states John Winter President and CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce. "Despite the fact that we have seen government act on several of our recommendations the bottom line for businesses is, if childcare is not addressed in a comprehensive way it will have a huge impact on businesses ability to remain viable, let alone competitive and profitable."…

The resolution to be presented to delegates at the BC Chamber AGM will call on the government to give immediate priority to developing, funding and implementing a comprehensive Child Care Strategy for BC….