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Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Affordable and high quality child care for
Canadians
February 16, 2006
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Block
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1V 0A2
February 16, 2006
Regarding: Affordable and high quality child care for Canadians
Dear Prime Minister Harper,
On behalf of KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, I
would like to welcome you to your new and important role as Prime
Minister of Canada. We are writing as you deliberate on how best
to fulfill one of your government’s top priorities: to “offer
parents help with child care.”
KAIROS is a national coalition of eleven church and religious organizations
working to further the Biblical principles of peace, justice and
compassion. Our member churches are made up of millions of Canadians
from coast to coast to coast. These churches have a long history
of working with and for those in need in our communities. Therefore,
we welcome your pledge to “build strong communities that serve
the needs of all Canadians, not just the interests of a privileged
few.”
The availability of affordable and high-quality early childhood
care and education opportunities is key to ensuring the healthy
development of all Canadian children, rich or poor. Churches in
Canada have played, and continue to play, a central role in hosting
and supporting community childcare and learning centres across Canada.
A commitment to the well being of children is at the heart of our
faith.
You state in your platform that: “Conservatives believe in
freedom of choice in child care. The best role for government is
to let parents choose what’s best for their children, and
provide parents with the resources to balance work and family life
as they see fit – whether that means formal child care, informal
care through neighbours or relatives, or a parent staying at home.”
While we agree that choice is an important component, the more
important question is how to put in place meaningful choices in
childcare especially for lower income families whose choices are
very limited.
We believe that there are two fundamental building blocks for choice
in childcare. First, parents need financial support and resources.
Your proposed Child Care Allowance is a step in this direction.
It will provide $1,200 per child under six per year. This will help
parents and can be efficiently and effectively implemented under
the Child Tax Benefit program.
But on its own, the Allowance is not enough for two reasons. First,
the cost of quality childcare in Canada is in the order of $10,000
to $13,000 per year per child. The Child Care Allowance will only
provide a fraction of that amount.
Secondly, there is a serious shortage of quality childcare spaces
in Canada. In 2003, there were almost three million children with
mothers in the labour force, but fewer than 800,000 regulated childcare
spaces. So there is a second prerequisite for choice in childcare:
Increasing the availability of quality childcare spaces.
You claim that you will create 125,000 new childcare spaces over
the next five years through the provision of tax credits to employers
and non-profit associations. However, relying on tax incentives
is neither viable nor effective. Such programs have not created
new spaces in the past (for example in Ontario). There is no guarantee
that these spaces will be of high quality; and the spaces are unlikely
to be affordable for many families.
There is a better way. Your government can work diligently to build
on and enhance the current bilateral child-care agreements with
provinces, which could support 250,000 spaces by 2007, spaces that
would meet the principles of quality, affordability, universality
and development-oriented.
Much time and effort has already gone into developing and implementing
these accords. Cross-sectoral groups have been working at the community
level to develop the best possible programs in cities and rural
areas across Canada. By providing parents with a Child Care Allowance
and honouring and enhancing childcare agreements with the provinces,
you will be doing the right thing for today’s families and
tomorrow’s Canada.
We must all work together to provide Canadian children with the
best possible start to life, for we know that these early years
provide a crucial window of opportunity for ensuring that children
are successful at school and able to become active contributors
to society later in life. We ask you to respond to the call of parents
across the country for quality, affordable and accessible childcare
spaces for their children.
We look forward to your reply on this important issue and welcome
the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter further.
Sincerely,
Mary Corkery
Executive Director, KAIROS
- cc.
- Hon. Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development
Hon. Gilles Duceppe, Leader Bloc Québécois Party
Hon. Jack Layton, Leader New Democratic Party
Hon. Bill Graham, Interim Leader Liberal Party
Hon. Jean Charest, Premier of Québec
Hon. Ralph Klein, Premier of Alberta
Hon. Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
Hon. Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia
Hon. Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba
Hon. Bernard Lord, Premier of New Brunswick
Hon. Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Hon. Joseph Handley, Premier of North West Territories
Hon. Paul Okalik, Premier of Nunavut
Hon. Patrick Binns, Premier of Prince Edward Island
Hon. Lorne Calvert Premier of Saskatchewan
Hon. Dennis Fentie, Premier of the Yukon
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