See text below.
EXCERPTS
Mission child care providers spoke strongly against the closure of Child Care Resource and Referral Centres (CCRR) Saturday afternoon.
About 50 people attended a discussion Feb. 24 at Cedar Valley School, to voice their concerns to MP Randy Kamp and MLA Randy Hawes.
"Our main job is to create new child care providers," said Mission CCRR program coordinator Laura Hope, adding CCRR staff conduct home safety checks and ensure criminal record checks are done.
"Most distressing to me is that one year ago, providers were asked to expand," Hope said. More provincial money was provided and CCRRs were told to increase its visibility in the community and to take on more charges. "I don't understand how [the province] can go from spending millions to closing us down."
With changes in funding, many child care providers are faced with making less or passing costs onto clients. The provincial government plans to cut funding to CCRRs.
Offsetting this is the federal government's $100 per month, per child under six money that goes to each child in the home.
...
Randy Kamp acknowledging the importance of child care and briefly outlined the Conservatives' three-phase approach to dealing with child care in Canada.
The first phase was the $100 Universal Child Care Benefit that goes to all parents with children under six years old.
Phase two is to develop new child care space beginning in 2008. The Conservatives plan to create 25,000 more spaces a year for five years at a cost of $250 million. The third phase is to free up more money to give to provincial governments.
...
- reprinted from the Mission Record