Think of the children
Vernon Morning Star
Lynne Reside, Coordinator, North Okanagan Early Childhood Development Coalition
October 9, 2008

As our candidates are very active in sharing their promises should they be elected, it is essential that we are active in letting them know what we expect of them. A recent poll has indicated that the majority of citizens polled approve of greater funding and attention to universally funded child care.

This is across party affiliation, age groups and socio-economic status. We need to ask our politicians how they are going to respond to the high number of citizens who support this. There is also a strong movement in our province towards the concept of a living wage. Currently, although there is low unemployment in many areas of the country, many of the jobs are low-paying jobs. When these are combined with high housing costs, high child care costs, a lack of affordable transportation in many areas, and food security issues, we have a great increase in families falling into the category of the “working poor.” Raising the minimum wage to a living wage helps local communities as low wage earners with slightly higher disposable income spend most of their money locally rather than taking it out of the community or country. When families are able to rise slightly above mere subsistence, they are better able to spend on more than food and housing, benefiting the local economy. Their children benefit by opportunities for greater inclusion in the social structure of their community with participation in such things as sports or arts activities. Working families are currently spending huge amounts of their income on housing and child care in order to work and participate fully in local society. Giving families $100 taxable dollars per child is a welcome child bonus, but it does not build an affordable, accessible universal child care system. It is similar to giving every local citizen $100 to build a fire hall. Giving each person a small amount of money does not build the infrastructure needed to help families to rise above poverty and provide better outcomes for their children. Before the election, ask your candidates about how they will address the child care crisis, family and child poverty including the increasing working poor, a living wage strategy and addressing the environmental issues which impact our children now and for many years into the future. After the election, hold them accountable…