September 26, 2008
Dear friends,
On October 14, Canadians will once again go to the polls to elect a federal government. We know we’ve said it before – but for our community this election is more important than ever. It will determine the kind of Canada our children inherit.
In the 2006 federal election, the Advocacy Forum and our allies across BC predicted that Stephen Harper’s so-called ‘child care’ plan wouldn’t work. We said that canceling the federal commitment to transfer over $600 million to BC that HAD to be spent on child care and replacing it with a taxable allowance of $100 a month to parents would not solve the child care crisis. And, regrettably, we now know just how right we were.
Just as soon as Harper terminated the child care agreement with BC, things here went from bad to worse. The BC government passed the cuts onto parents, caregivers and communities – saying that parents could use their $100 allowance to make up the difference. Families, caregivers and communities know the results – waitlists grew, fees went up and wages went down.
Next May British Columbians will have a chance to tell the provincial government what they think about their child care record. But now – it’s time to tell all the federal candidates in your riding that Harper’s policies have failed and that Canada STILL needs child care.
Let’s remember that when families, caregivers, municipalities, unions and others spoke out with one voice against child care cuts, we were strong. Let’s remember that when we stood together against multinational corporations trying to buy up our child care services, we kept them out. In this election, lets make sure that every candidate in every BC riding knows that we are a force to be reckoned with.
The links below offer a variety of election tools to help you get the child care message out. We encourage you to take a close look at the federal party platforms. When you do, you will see that the Conservatives are running on their record of offering families child care choice through the $100 monthly taxable allowance. The other federal parties are offering different approaches to building a universal child care system. We hope you will vote for the candidate you trust to get the job done.
Please use and share these materials widely and stay tuned to this site for more.
Most importantly – on October 14 make sure everyone you know VOTES CHILD CARE.
Links
Federal Parties – child care platforms
Other election resources:
Elections Canada
Code Blue for Child Care
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC
Child Care Resource and Research Unit
Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
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Authorized by the BC Child Care Advocacy Forum |
