Sharon Brooks wrote a thoughtful piece on the report “With Our Best Future In Mind”. She does not shy away from some of the difficult issues of implementing a program and bringing together the many stakeholders. But she also lays a powerful case for why the status quo doesn’t work – how Ontario is failing families and how our early learning and child care sector needs to better coordinate our services. » Continue reading “Brantford Expositor: Parents Should Welcome Early Learning Blueprint”

Introduced three years ago, the UCCB pays $100 per month to the families of all children under 6. Over the past three years, the Federal Government has spent $7.5 billion dollars on the program. The only trouble is that it really shouldn’t be called a “child care” program. » Continue reading “Conservatives claim millions helped by Universal Child Care Benefit”

Long after ABC Learning Centres declared bankrupcy, bad news continues to flow with continued concern over the fate of 72o centres and 12,000 child care jobs. » Continue reading “More Bad News from Australia”

For a pdf copy of this bulletin, please click here.

Ontario Coalition for  Better Child Care
Special Information Bulletin for the Early Learning and Child Care Community on:

“With Our Best Future in Mind” the report by Dr. Charles Pascal, Early Learning Advisor » Continue reading “Bulletin #1: With Our Best Future in Mind”

The following letter was sent to the Minister of Education offering assistance on implementing full-day learning for a stronger system of early learning and child care. » Continue reading “OCBCC letter to Minister Wynne on Full-Day Learning”

One of the hot button issues in the City of Toronto strike is the issue of sick leave. Lots of City workers have tough jobs – garbage collectors come to mind, but child care staff rely on sick days.

As parents will know, children are prone to getting sick and spreading their germs. We tell parents not to send sick children to child care – and child care staff have to stay home when they are sick as well.

Part time City of Toronto workers have no paid sick benefits – a necessity for anyone working in child care.

It’s also worth noting, in the field of early learning and child care, you can really see the difference that a union can make. Child care staff who work for the City make a decent wage – above the average wages of $14 an hour. Their unions have made sure the City had staff have received pay equity payments and all workers benefit by bargaining wages and benefits as a group, instead of as individuals.

Just food for thought – but compost that leftover food, because you can’t throw it away!

Kim Rudd of Cobourg will be running for the Liberal nomination in Northumberland Quinte West. Kim was active in the OCBCC throughout the 90′s and was the President of the Coalition. Our thoughts are with and we wish her the best of luck!

To read the full article from Northumberland Today, please click here - a quote from the article follows.

“I believe I can do a very good job. I’ve worked in the riding for over 30 years,” she said during an interview Tuesday morning with Northumberland Today.

That experience includes establishing local day-care centres, owning a private college since 2002, heading up a corporate training company, being co-chair of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, having worked as president of the local chamber of commerce, being twice a finalist for a Business Woman of the Year Award and remaining chair of the six-year-old Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee.

As a volunteer, advocate and businessperson Rudd says, she has learned to work with politicians and bureaucrats to get things done.