Some Ontarians are headed to the polls on September 6^th – there are two by-elections to replace MPPs who have left their positions. The elections are in the ridings of Vaughan and Kitchener-Waterloo.

These are critical opportunities for a few reasons. First, elections are always a great opportunity to raise public awareness about the issues facing child care. Parents are voters, and candidates will listen to them when they say there’s not enough child care and it’s too expensive.

Second, if the Ontario Liberals were to win both of these ridings, they would have a majority government. The cooperation necessary between the Ontario Liberals and New Democrats in a minority government context has been good for child care – this is how we were able to secure funding in the budget to stabilize our programs.

Also of note is that Catherine Fife, NDP candidate in Kitchener-Waterloo, is a long-time child care advocate and member of the Coalition’s council. » Continue reading “September 6th: By-elections in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan”

When Erin George left the doctor’s office after finding out she was five weeks pregnant, instead of running home she went straight to a daycare centre to get herself on a waiting list.  Her daughter, Quinn, has since been born, and she’s still on a total of 16 lists. George has been given no estimated time of when she will get a spot.

George says that with the elections coming up, issues about childcare will affect how she votes. “I’d like to vote for someone who believes childcare is an important investment for our province to make,” she says. “Also, I’m looking for a party that is committed to continuing the rollout of full-day kindergarten because that reduces the issue of finding half-day daycare.” To read more click here.

On September 2nd the Ontario NDP became the first party in the 2011 provincial election campaign  to commit to new funding to stabilze and sustain Ontario child care programs. » Continue reading “Ontario New Democrats Commit to Child Care Funding”

Ontarians are headed to the polls on October 6th, and each of us must do what we can to put child care on the agenda and ensure that the political parties are clear about their position on child care. Candidates in our communities must know that we will be voting for child care, and that we need to hear a strong commitment from each party for funding to create more affordable high quality spaces and ensure decent wages for ECEs. » Continue reading “Provincial Election October 6th – Let’s put child care on the public agenda”

On March 31st, Michael Ignatieff announced the Liberal Party’s Child Care and Early Learning Platform for the May 2011 election. Ignatieff vowed a Liberal government would invest $500 Million to a new Early Learning and Care fund that would grow to $1 Billion annually by the fourth federal budget. » Continue reading “Liberals Announce Early Learning and Child Care Platform”

Canada is headed towards its 41st election on May 2nd, 2011. Parents, child care workers, and allies all want to know how child care will fit in to party platforms and where the needs of our families and communities fall in their list of priorities.

» Continue reading “Federal Election 2011: Where does Child Care Fit In?”

In recent weeks, there has been a flood of excellent stories covering the lack of affordable, high quality child care in Ontario. Social Justice reporter for the Toronto Star Laurie Monsebraaten knows first hand how difficult it is to navigate the patchwork of services that make up our child care system, and has written a series of articles, the Child Care Challenge, to shine a light on the lengths to which some families must go to find care for their children. Well aware that these issues come from a lack of investment in early learning, and the chronic underfunding to these programs, Monsebraaten begins to reveal the impacts of this child care crisis on Ontario’s children, families and communities.

» Continue reading “The Child Care Challenge: Ontario’s chronic underfunding of early learning is starting to show”

Five years after the Harper government cut the National Child Care program, and after ridiculous statements by Minister Diane Finley suggesting a national child care program would force parents to force parents “to have other people raise their children,” the debate over the need for a national child care program is back in the news.

With the Federal Budget announced and quickly dismissed by opposition parties, we are headed to a Federal Election this spring. National Child Care must stay on the public agenda.

On March 7th, 2011, the YWCA released the report Eucated, Employed and Equal to point out the fact that social services such as child care have not caught up with the fact that the majority of women are now reaching higher levels of education and are participating in the paid workforce. To read the report, please click here. To read an article from the Toronto Star about the issue, please click here.

» Continue reading “National Child Care Program Back in the News”

Students at Ryerson did the “hokey pokey” to protest the lack of child care in the country. Ryerson student Lyndsay Macdonald believes that “Advocacy for students and early childhood educators is really lacking…With a federal election on the horizon, now is the time to act. We need to mobilize our community and our fellow students to start demanding better choices for quality early childhood education.”

To read the full story, please click here.

When the government focusses on “male” issues, such as the gun regirtry, women tune politics out of their lives. Yet, as a poll conducted earlier this month indicates, with 22% of women undecided, it is important for all political parties to develop policies for women.

» Continue reading “Women’s vote could sway outcome of the next federal elections”