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THE FUTURE OF CHILD CARE IN NEW BRUNSWICK IS UNCERTAIN The federal government has budgeted $5-billion dollars over 5 years to begin building a child care system for Canada to meet the needs of children and families. The New Brunswick government wants to spend these dollars on other needs, claiming that the needs of children in New Brunswick are different from the needs of children living elsewhere in Canada. Many child care facilities in the province are struggling financially. Although both parents are working in over 75% of families with young children, there are regulated child care spots for only 1 in 9 children in the province. These dollars are needed to support and grow the child care system in the province. WHAT YOU CAN DO 1. You can write a letter to Premier Lord urging the provincial government to sign a bi-lateral child care agreement and to build a child care system in the province to meet our children's needs. You can either write your own message OR copy and paste the
message below. SAMPLE MESSAGES: # 1 – to the Premier Hon. Bernard Lord Email: premier@gnb.ca Mr. Lord: I am writing this letter as a New Brunswick citizen concerned for the welfare of children and families in the province. I am concerned with the position being taken by the provincial government in negotiating an agreement with the federal government on child care. Providing training in early learning and child care to grandparents, family members and neighbors does not constitute providing quality child care choices to families? What research is being used as the basis of this position? Many families have not chosen informal child care arrangements. In fact, it is often lack of choice that brings families to these arrangements. It is true that the rural nature of our province provides some additional challenges. However, the challenge is in service delivery, not with the children’s needs. All children, including the rural children of New Brunswick, have the same social, emotional and developmental needs regardless of where they live in this country. To meet these needs, New Brunswick must sign an Agreement with the federal government and develop a 5-year action plan that truly moves us forward in building a quality child care system. To make a real difference, New Brunswick's share of the federal Early Learning and Child Care funds should be used to sustain and expand (with expansion being in the non profit sector) our current child care system. Families and communities are anxiously awaiting the government’s next steps. New Brunswick needs and families deserve a child care system. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Your name # 2 – to the federal minister Hon. Ken Dryden Email: Dryden.K@parl.gc.ca Mr. Dryden: I am writing as a New Brunswick citizen concerned for the welfare of children and families in the province. I am encouraged that the federal government is holding strong in its negotiation with the New Brunswick government on working towards a bi-lateral child care agreement. Our children, families and communities need a comprehensive child care system that ensures access for all to regulated, affordable, inclusive, and high quality child care programs. Getting the right deal, not just any deal, is critical to the future well-being of the children of New Brunswick and their families. I do not believe that providing “some” training in early learning and child care to grandparents, neighbors and other family members constitutes providing quality child care choices to families. Many families have not chosen informal child care arrangements. In fact, it is often lack of choice that brings families to these arrangements. Although New Brunswick is a rural province, and so presents some challenges in the delivery of child care services, these challenges are not unique. We can look to other rural communities in Canada for alternative child care delivery models to ensure that the child care needs of all children and families are being met. Sincerely, Your name |