Thursday, January 11, 2007

Childcare, or lack thereof

Looks like the lame-o Conservative Childcare plan is not going to work. Tax credits to companies that create childcare places have not worked at all. Neither has their cheque printing program.

Here is what the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada had to say about our great new government's plan.

"There has not been one new space created," said Monica Lysack, the association's executive director told CBC News.

"Somewhere around 80 per cent of children don't have access to licensed early learning child care programs. So there's a huge need."

Harper also said a Conservative government would create 125,000 spaces over five years with the help of the private sector and non-profit organizations which would get a $10,000 tax credit for every space created.

"We figure we'll reasonably create about 25,000 spaces a year," Harper said then.

A year later, no spaces have been created and the plan for more spaces hasn't been completed yet.

7,000 on waiting list in Ottawa alone

This is terrible news, especially for the working poor. Their children have no chance at all to get into a proper childcare facility, and all they have to show for it is a cheque that is for the most part useless when it comes to helping them find a place for their children. I for one am appalled at the lack of action the Tories have made in this. There has to be some accountability, they can't just arbitrarily send out cheques, we need more places for childcare. Come on Stephen, why is the plan failing?

The idea itself of business' having in house childcare is especially silly in downtown areas, where office leases are expensive. Let's just say it this, another Conservative (republican) plan that fails. The sooner we get back to funding actual child care places that we know exist, the better!


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

lol...

monica lysack??? Nah, she's not biased.

Why is only "licensed daycare" (institutional 9 to 5) the ONLY acceptable althernative for children?

How about family? Neighbours? In home care? All perfectly acceptable and dare I say, more PERSONAL compared to the cold, clinical licensed care that lysack wants.

Interesting that a while ago, there was the annual listing of companies who are considered to be the best at taking care of their employers. The top 10 all had in house daycare.

Anonymous said...

Hey anon - where does this "9 to 5" crap come from?

As for the child care advocates, they had a pretty good victory till Jack Layton screwed it up. Maybe if they had been more vocal in support of a government that listened to them they'd be in a better place right now.

Anonymous said...

Anon got it wrong. She wasn't talking about "licensed daycare", she was talking about "licenced early learning child care programs".

We have a friend that does daycare in her home. Because she only has so many children she doesn't have to through all the red tape to become a licenced establishment.

Do those children have access to daycare? Yes. Do they have access to "licenced early learning child care programs"? No.

wilson said...

Wee little problem with the Child Care Advocacy Assoc & Monica Lysack and your post.

-The tax credits begin in 2007, for the 2007/08 tax year.

-Until businesses file their income tax returns (following their year end, during 2007 or in 2008) there is absolutely NO WAY for any agency to know what, if any, company took advantage of the credit and created child care spaces.

New Child Care Spaces
This budget sets aside $250 million per year beginning in 2007–08 to support the creation of new, real child care spaces.

http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget06/pamph/pahelpe.htm