Kids, the Issue that Never Played: No party hurried to make a bold stand on childcare. But stakes are high.
The Tyee
By Charles Campbell
May 12, 2009

In the 2008 Throne Speech, the BC Liberals proposed a huge shift in early childhood education that would involve spending more than half a billion dollars a year. Hardly anyone in the media noticed. In April, the Ministry of Education released a key report affirming that initiative. Pretty much no one in the media bothered to mention it.

Both the NDP and the BC Liberals have significant planks in their platforms on childcare and early childhood education, but those planks haven't been used to start many fires on the campaign trail. Only the Georgia Straight covered the issues in any depth, asking why the NDP has backed away from previous childcare commitments.

What will it take for B.C. to move forward with a shared sense of purpose and excitement on childcare and early childhood education? These two ostensibly separate but inextricably linked matters are hugely important to our short- and long-term future.

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