Election
2004 Vote for Equality - Home
> Issues > Childcare
Danger
ahead: Harper's Canada does not include child
care
An
open letter to Canadians – June 2004
Ontario
Coalition for Better Child Care
We believe that
every child in Canada deserves high quality child care. In this election,
three of the major political parties agree.
The Liberals have
promised national legislation and an additional $5 billion over five
years to build a universally accessible early learning and child care
program; the New Democrats propose a similar program over four years.
The Bloc Québécois wants federal funding to expand Quebec’s
innovative child care system.
The Conservative
platform is silent on child care. Instead, Conservative leader Stephen
Harper has declared that "rather than boost spending on institutional
daycare, we'll offer tax breaks to families with children, no matter
how they are raised" (May 28, Saskatoon). His proposed across-the-board
tax deduction of $2,000 per child would be worth a few hundred dollars
for modest and middle-income families and nothing for the poorest
families.
While Mr. Harper
is trying to make it one, child care is not an ideological or marginal
issue. Canadians agree with the experts - a well-designed early childhood
program provides parenting resources as it promotes the healthy development
of young children and enables parents to work or study. The presence
of child care on this election reflects its importance as a popular,
cost-effective response to many of our country's most pressing challenges
including:
- Health. A child’s
early development has a significant impact on mental and physical
health risks in later life, and high quality child care is an asset
to healthy early development.
- Poverty. Child
care provides a two-prong benefit by allowing low income parents
to work or upgrade skills at the same time as it ensures that their
children are not placed at risk due to their families’ socio-economic
circumstances.
- Women's equity.
In the words of Justice Rosalie Abella: "Child care is the
ramp to equality in the workplace for women". Without it, women
cannot fully participate in the economic, social, cultural and political
life of their communities.
- Investing in
the knowledge-based economy. Skills training and life-long learning
are the kingpins of Canada’s "Innovation Strategy".
Research by economists such as Nobel Prize winner James Heckman
indicates that public investments in young children are the key
to innovation, yielding a higher return than most economic initiatives.
- Social inclusion.
Child care contributes to vibrant communities and makes a multifaceted
contribution to the socio-economic, gender, cultural and ethnic
harmony Canadians value.
Today Canada is
being outpaced as the value of early learning and child care is recognized
internationally. European government leaders have agreed to provide
publicly funded child care for most children in the European Union
by 2010 and many U.S. states now provide full day programs for many
preschoolers. Indeed, many developing countries are making early learning
a priority.
[A political leader
who would dismiss what other world leaders have seen as a socio-economic
imperative doesn’t have the vision to lead Canada. On June 28th
we are asking Canadians to vote with the future of our children and
our country in mind. -- amended on June 21, 2004 to read as
follows ... ]
This is the kind
of forward thinking leadership Canada requires. On June 28th we are
asking Canadians to vote with the future of our children and our country
in mind.
- - - - - - -
- - -
This letter will
be released via the media on Tuesday, June 22, 2004.
We encourage supporting
individuals and organizations to sign on by emailing kira@childcareontario.org
by June 21 @ 5 p.m.
June
18, 2004
amended June 21, 2004 - last paragraph
Website
content & design created
by Barbara Anello
unless otherwise noted
