B.C. government backtracks on commitment to child care

Minister ignores advice from own Finance Committee and Progress Board

B.C.’s minister responsible for child care has misled parents and ignored advice from it’s own agencies in Friday’s surprise announcement of funding cuts to child care, said the B.C. Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) today.

“The provincial government told parents and care providers in September that they would maintain child care services until at least the end of the school year, and they’ve gone back on their word,” said BCGEU president George Heyman. “Now the minister says that some of these services will be cut, months earlier than their original funding commitment.

“This announcement ignores the best advice from the government’s own Finance Committee and Progress Board – both of which have urged the government to expand support for quality child care across the province.”

On September 12, 2006, Minister of State for Child Care Linda Reid sent a letter to parents and child care providers stating that, “the province will endeavour to maintain all other child care services to the end of the current school year,” which continues through the end of June 2007.

However, Minister Reid’s January 5 announcement indicates that annual funding for the Child Care Resource and Referral Program (CCRR) will be cut from $14 million to $9 million, effective April 1, 2007. The government has also chosen to cut off new applications for subsidized day care spaces, effective immediately.

The government-appointed B.C. Progress Board’s year-end Discussion Paper on Social Conditions advised the government to re-invest in social infrastructure, including child care. The government’s own Finance Committee also recommended increasing social spending in areas like child care, affordable housing and women’s services, to respond to the “growing public concerns” around these issues.

“At a time when 75 per cent of Canadian women are in the workforce, and waitlists for child care are growing each year, this policy reversal is appalling,” said Heyman. “When the federal Conservatives announced a $455 million cut in child care funding to B.C., Minister Reid said nothing for weeks and months. Now she is reneging on her government’s commitment.”

A recent survey of 50 licensed child care centres across B.C. showed that wait lists for quality child care averages one to two years and is growing. 92 per cent of child care centres reported facing severe challenges to recruit and retain qualified staff, after the provincial government cut $40 million from child care services in 2002, and imposed wage and benefit rollbacks on child care workers.

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For more information, contact Chris Bradshaw at 604-473-5405; cell: 604-209-4129

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