UPDATED March 7, 2005
2005 PRESS RELEASE ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
For immediate publication
“The time has come for a truly national system of early learning and
child care, a system based on the four key principles that parents and
child care experts say matter – quality, universality, accessibility
and development.” says Michelle Wright, chair of the PEI Federation of
Labour Women’s Committee
"On the occassion of International Women’s Day, we are turning our
attention to a subject that impacts all families, but most
especially women, and that subject is a lack of quality, regulated
child-care services." says Ms Wright
The situation of women in our society and our province has changed. The
era when the family unit consited mostly of a father as the breadwinner
and a stay-at-home mother are in the past. Today in most families both
parents are in the workforce. Plus a growing number of families are
single-parent based and the parent in the majority of cases, is a
woman, and most often one who is in the workforce.
"In PEI, women in the labour movement and in society, have been asking
for a National Child Care Program. Too many of our children are in
non-regulated child-care facilities, a certain percentage are cared for
by family members, neighbours, or in child-care facilities which does
not meet any standards of quality" continues Ms. Wright
For women, quality child-care services offer numerous advantages. In
fact, quality child-care assures a better balance between work life and
family commitments, better job opportunities in which to earn a living
throughout one’s time in the workforce and at retirement, an adequate
income.
For employers, quality child-care services ensure a reduction in
absenteeism and lateness resulting from family commitments and greater
productivity because of reduced stress in workers who are feeling more
secure about their children’s well-being
We are asking the federal government to put in place and for the
provinces to step up and agree to:
1-A publicly funded, sustainable system for quality child care parents
can count on and afford. Government provides most of the funding
directly to the programs, giving them a stable operating base. In
Quebec, for example, parents pay a maximum $7 a day and government pays
the rest.
2- A Child Care Act that guarantees standards and the principles of
quality, universality, accessibility, developmental programming and
inclusiveness.
3- Public accountability tied to provincial and territorial five-year
plans that contain goals, timelines and targets, and a way to measure
real progress in developing comprehensive family- and centre-based
child care services.
4- Money for children, so that in the future every public dollar goes
directly into services. Services should be expanded in the non-profit
sector, with a transition plan developed for existing commercial
centres.
" It is about time that our governments, both federal and provincial
make the right choice and give women another piece of legislation that
will bring them a little bit closer to been considered equal in our
society" concludes Ms. Wright
And as apart of International Women’s Day, the PEI federation of Labour
will be holding an event to celebrate this very special day. This event
is open to everyone and will be held in the Elliot Room at the Howard
Johnsons “Dutch Inn” in North River from 7:30 - 9:00 P.M. Donalda
MacDonald, President CUPE PEI Div. &
VP CLC Executive Council will do a presentation on Child Care and
Improv PEI will perform a skit. Admission is free.
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