UPDATED June 17, 2008

Press Release In Advance of  the Federation's Family Barbeque on Child Care Issues

The PEI Federation of Labour in association with the Canadian Labour Congress invites everyone to attend a Family Barbeque on the issue of Childcare to be held this Saturday, June 21st will be hosting at Victoria Park from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. with rain location at Murphy’s Community Centre. There will be entertainment, games for the kids, hot dogs, hamburgers, prize draws and fun for all.

The event will be held as part of the Canadian Labour Congress Women’s Economic Equality Campaign and will mark the official release of the CLC’s Childcare Report Card for PEI.

“It is our greatest hope that by releasing  these report cards here and across Canada that we can play a role in getting our federal and provincial governments to finally come together and start to provide the political will and resources to create the quality, affordable, and accessible national child care system that Canadian families have been waiting so long for” states Lori Mackay, PEI Federation of Labour’s Vice President (Woman)   

The main goal of this event will be not only to acknowledge the great work being done by the Island’s child care workers but also to remind our Federal and Provincial governments that there is still much more that needs to be accomplished before Islanders will finally have the childcare system that they need and deserve.

The Provincial government needs to ensure we have a child care system that is affordable and accessible to all working families. The CLC’s Childcare Report Card for PEI shows that this is not yet the case.

They also need to ensure that the good wages and working conditions necessary to attract and retain highly skilled and professional early childhood educators are there. The report card shows that with an average hourly wage for child care workers in PEI of $9.25 ( the lowest in Canada) that there is still much work to done in this area.

Guest speakers at this event will be PEI Federation of Labour’s Vice President (Woman), Lori MacKay, who will officially launch the CLC’s Childcare Report Card for PEI  Olivia Chow, NDP Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina); Shelley Ward, President Union of Public Sector Employees and Stacy Delaney, CUPE National Child Care Working Group.
       
“In the end, the first day of Summer is a perfect day to play with our children and reflect on how important quality, affordable and accessible child care is for all of us.  Bring your friends, families, neighbours, co-workers, fellow activists and enjoy an event based on improving the head start in life we give our greatest and most important assets, our children. If we are to truly have a successful and prosperous future, we must provide the future of our society with the best head start that we can”, concludes Ms. MacKay

CLC's Child Care Report Cards
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