Questions to the candidates from childcare
The Daily News (Prince Rupert)
April 29, 2009
By: Emily Mliecsko and Katie Wahl, Westview Child Care Centre

… In recent years, scientific data has linked positive development of young children as being directly related to quality learning experiences. The Early Childhood field has known this for years and has advocated for resources and money to be put in this direction.

It has been calculated that for every dollar spent on child related programs that there is a $2 - $17 return on investment. Children are healthier. More children receive an education at a younger age. There is less crime.

When is this area going to be addressed? While it is true that government bodies have been listening to the data and have started some very positive programs, the big picture regarding children has not been addressed. Why?

When reading the local papers there is very little mention regarding supporting children and their families and people that work very hard in the early childhood field.

We have gathered some questions for all candidates to address from both local citizens and provincial organizations.

1. If elected, what will the candidate do immediately to address the child care crisis, stabilize existing spaces and prevent any more child care closures?

2. What experience do the candidates have in planning, developing and delivering a publicly funded child care system?

3. If elected, how much will the candidate invest in child care and over what time frame?

4. Do the candidates see public investment in child care as an important way to stimulate BC's economy?

5. Children living in isolated areas in the North need help and we need to invest in their future. What can we do?

6. There is so much information given to families at the time of their baby's birth but very little information is given in regards to their education and care from birth to 18. Why?

We would like to quote long time child care advocate Rita Chudnovsky: "Just for a moment, close your eyes and imagine your community. Think about the public spaces and places that you and others use: the library, the school, the crosswalk, and the community centre.

No doubt there are things about these spaces and places you would change. But, as imperfect as they may be, they do exist, and when they are inadequate or threatened we expect action.

Why is that? Well, for starters, we agreed that everyone would be better off if we pooled our resources to provide these services. It wasn't always easy, but, over time, we built consensus about the value of these services, we allocated a share of our public resources to build and operate them, and we set up an accountable system to deliver them." - Taken from Georgia Strait Feb.4/09.

Like Rita, we conclude providing families with a system that provides children with endless rich experiences will have long lasting effects for our communities at large. This is why we are asking all candidates in our riding to answer our questions so that the public can be informed of each party's intentions.