Child Care Watch April 2008
Friday Phone Fun, May 2
Friday Phone Fun is an exciting and fun way to take collective action for child care.
The next Friday Phone Fun is May 2nd!
We will be calling the Minister of Children and Youth Services Deb Matthews to tell her that we want quality child care and that means not-for-profit child care!
The Ministry of Children and Youth Services takes collect calls. You can leave
a message for Minister Deb Matthews at:
416-212-7432.
As you know, the MPPs are at their home constituency offices Fridays – so this is the day to call. Our call on Friday May 2nd is focused on the quality and the need to stop ‘big- box’ corporate child care. Here are a few steps to follow:
- Introduce yourself:
Hello I am ________________________ and I am calling because I want the highest possible quality child care and research shows that’s means not-for-profit child care!
- Speaking points – choose one or all
* Researcher Dr. Deb Brennen just completed a speaking tour in Canada that focused on the impact of corporate child care in Australia. This model of large scale corporate delivery in Australia has meant that parent fees have gone through the roof; I don’t want this to happen in Canada.
* I want to know that our scarce public dollars are going into a comprehensive, public system of early learning and care for children 0-12 NOT SHAREHOLDERS pockets.
* Study after study, including a City of Toronto study just last week, demonstrates when profit is introduced to the delivery model – quality suffers! Non-profit delivery is the better way to go.
* We need consistent and substantial investments to build a comprehensive public child care system for all children 0-12. We don’t want further growth of patchy- under-funded programs that lead to fertile ground for corporate take-over.
* I was so disappointed that child care was NOT EVEN MENTIONED in the recent provincial budget. The $25 million that is tucked away somewhere on the government’s balance sheet will do nothing to quell demand; improve working conditions and wages for under-paid and undervalued staff; or improve service in our beleaguered delivery system.