NDP Child Care Campaign Hits Duncan And Nanaimo
VICTORIA – New Democrat child care critic Claire Trevena kicked off the first leg of the child care initiative, Raising B.C., in Duncan and Nanaimo yesterday.
“I’ve been talking to families about the problems they face accessing affordable, quality child care,” said Trevena, MLA for North Island. “I’ve also been hearing from child care providers about the difficulties they have in keeping costs low for parents and retaining staff.”
Claire Trevena
Trevena met with parents, providers, community leaders and advocates at Parkside Academy in Duncan and the Jolly Giant Daycare in Nanaimo.
Trevena pointed to Parkside Academy in Duncan, as an example of the government’s misplaced priorities. Parkside is a not-for-profit early learning centre housed within a school slated for closure by the B.C. Liberals.
“At Parkside Academy, child care spaces are in high demand. They need to expand their infant toddler program, a reasonable investment given that the government recently spent millions improving the school,” said Trevena.
“If Parkside closes it will have a huge impact on the community and businesses in the area as working parents struggle to find alternative care in the face of growing child care wait lists.”
Trevena also visited with parents and providers at the Jolly Giant Daycare in Nanaimo, where operators have been forced to close child care spaces because of an inability to attract and retain qualified staff.
“Child care providers have had to reduce available child care spaces from 20 to 12 because they can’t attract enough staff,” said Trevena. “That’s because the Campbell government hasn’t made competitive wages for child care providers a priority.
“The more I travel the province, the more I hear from parents and providers that the Campbell Liberals are not committed to making a significant investment in child care programs,” said Trevena.
Trevena will continue her consultations with parents and providers on Vancouver Island next week, with a stop in Courtenay on March 20. Trevena will carry the initiative to communities across B.C. through to the end of May.
- September 8, 2010
- September 7, 2010