UPDATED March 3, 2006
An Open Letter to Premier Binns and the Media on Child Care
As we expressed in our recent brief to cabinet, the P.E.I. Federation
of Labour is very concerned with Premier Binns’ support of Prime
Minister Harper’s so-called child-care plan and we urge him to
reconsider his position.
Harper’s plan simply rehashes the child-care platform of the former
Harris government in Ontario, which failed dismally. Harris provided a
child-care supplement that produced no child care and a tax initiative
for child-care construction that did not build a single space.
To say that P.E.I. will be better off with Harper’s plan is ludicrous.
The national system of early learning and child care is in its infancy.
The foundation is barely in place. It would be a terrible pronouncement
on our society if, after years of trying to build a system of early
learning and child care, that the premier would support this new
minority government in its attempt to wipe out with the stroke of a pen
efforts to help strengthen families and advance women’s equality, not
to mention the plans provinces have put in place on the faith of a
signed agreement with the Government of Canada.
These agreements were signed with the Government of Canada and not with
a particular political party. We believe it is important that this
government be held accountable and that these agreements and
investments in our children continue.
In terms of money, we are very concerned with the way the Binns
government is trying to continue the myth that Islanders with children
of child-care age will actually receive $1,200 per year. As a taxable
allowance, there is a good chance that very few Islanders will receive
the full $1,200 and even if they were to receive the full allowance,
not only is it just a drop in the bucket as far as child-care expenses
go, but it also does very little to provide Islanders with the quality
and accessible child care-system Islanders need and deserve.
While we welcome any form of income support for Island families and we
hope that this can be integrated with the current plan, there is no way
that this allowance can be viewed as a replacement for a national early
learning and child-care system.
Another big problem built into Harper’s child-care plan is that with
little to no accountability built into the plan, there is no guarantee
of how much of the money will be actually used for child care.
What Island families need most from our provincial and federal
governments is to work together to start to build towards an
affordable, public-funded, non-profit, child-care system based on the
QUAD principles (quality, universally inclusive, accessible and
developmental) that affords the workers who work with our children the
wages and benefits they need to provide for their families as they care
for ours. While we will not say that the current agreement is perfect,
it is a start towards building a child-care system that truly serves
Island families.
Supporting Prime Minister Harper’s child-care plan is truly a large
step backwards for the Binns government and the Island child-care
system. Once again, we urge Mr. Binns to reconsider his position on
this issue.
Sincerely Yours,
Carl Pursey,
President of the PEI Federation of Labour
PRESS
RELEASE MAIN
ANY
CONSTRUCTIVE
COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS,
OR ERRORS CLICK ON THE MAILBOX.
