Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
ADVT 
National

Child Care Advocates Fear Consequences If Liberal Funding Promise Falls Through

The Canadian Press, 10 Apr, 2016 01:04 PM
    OTTAWA — A federal promise to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a national child care system is not a sure thing — and advocates are wondering happens to the money if the Liberals can't reach agreements on a long-sought day care framework.
     
    The government promised to spend $500 million next year on child care, tying it to ongoing talks with the provinces about a national child care framework that would establish the ground rules for federal involvement in an area of provincial jurisdiction, not unlike health care.
     
    Included in that promise is $100 million for First Nations child care on reserves, an area for which the federal government has direct responsibility.
     
    Federal officials say the money is intended as an incentive to the provinces to entice them into signing onto a child-care framework and to demonstrate that the federal government wants to be a willing partner in the child care system.
     
    But what if there is no agreement by next year — or only a handful of provinces sign on to a framework?
     
    Employment and Social Development Canada, the federal department overseeing the initiative, would only say that the details of the "disbursement of unused funds are still being determined."
     
    Don Giesbrecht, executive director of the Canadian Child Care Federation, said his group plans to hold the federal government to its promise for spending.
     
    He sees no reason why the provincial, territorial and federal governments wouldn't be able to reach an agreement on child care.
     
    The funding proposal matches what child care advocates quietly asked for behind the scenes in the months before the budget. But that's what they were hoping for in this fiscal year — not next — to help lower day care fees, among other issues.
     
    "We sort of thought, to use a phrase, there was some low-hanging fruit there that perhaps could have been addressed immediately, but it wasn't," Giesbrecht said.
     
    "That's OK. We'll build and work towards something that is really robust and progressive in terms of policy."
     
    Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in February that he thought the provinces, territories and federal government were on a fast track to a child care framework, building on the work done a decade earlier when the Paul Martin government signed child care agreements with the provinces.
     
    Duclos cautioned at the time that each province had unique needs and programs in place that meant the framework couldn't take a one-size-fits-all approach.
     
    Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care said the families in those provinces have much in common. She said there are issues of affordability, accessibility and the quality of child care in every province.
     
    "The provinces are all a lot more the same than they are different," she said. 
     
    "This flexibility talk — while it is important to be flexible, it's also important to have a strong, principle-based framework that builds a program that will last."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Quebec Moves To Overhaul Immigration System To Meet Labour Market Needs

    Quebec's new immigration policy will be centered on finding foreign talent to meet labour market needs, Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil announced on Monday.

    Quebec Moves To Overhaul Immigration System To Meet Labour Market Needs

    Two Missing After Going Through Thin Ice Near Prince George, B.C.

    Two Missing After Going Through Thin Ice Near Prince George, B.C.
    In a release, Cpl. Craig Douglass says the pair vanished Monday afternoon.

    Two Missing After Going Through Thin Ice Near Prince George, B.C.

    Calgary Police Say No Charges In Death Of Twin Teens On Bobsled Track

    Calgary Police Say No Charges In Death Of Twin Teens On Bobsled Track
    Twins Jordan and Evan Caldwell, who were 17, were part of a group of eight teens who climbed over a fence at around 1:10 a.m. on Feb. 6 to go on an after-hours run on three plastic sleds.

    Calgary Police Say No Charges In Death Of Twin Teens On Bobsled Track

    B.C. Town Posts Wanted Posters, Offers A $5,000 Reward To Anyone Who Can Bring A Doctor To The Area

    B.C. Town Posts Wanted Posters, Offers A $5,000 Reward To Anyone Who Can Bring A Doctor To The Area
    Wild West-style wanted posters are appearing in Scotch Creek, about 100 kilometres north of Vernon.

    B.C. Town Posts Wanted Posters, Offers A $5,000 Reward To Anyone Who Can Bring A Doctor To The Area

    Washington Will Greet Justin Trudeau With Boulevard Of Maple Leaves... And Telltale Sign

    Washington Will Greet Justin Trudeau With Boulevard Of Maple Leaves... And Telltale Sign
    The most famous street in Washington is lined with Canadian flags. People are trying to finagle invitations to witness a Halley's Comet-type rarity in international relations: a political celebrity from Canada.

    Washington Will Greet Justin Trudeau With Boulevard Of Maple Leaves... And Telltale Sign

    Little Point In Having A Drone That Sees Danger But Can't Strike: Vance

    Little Point In Having A Drone That Sees Danger But Can't Strike: Vance
    The country's top military commander came out strongly in favour of acquiring armed drones for future operations in a bold statement Monday that is likely to make the Liberal government uncomfortable.

    Little Point In Having A Drone That Sees Danger But Can't Strike: Vance