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Voices for childcare"It is no coincidence that the first Education for All goal focuses
on the youngest and most vulnerable children. Improving their well-being at the
earliest age must be an integral and systematic component of education and poverty
reduction policies. High-level political endorsement is essential to getting early
childhood care and education on the agenda." "In strong and vibrant democracies, a generous social-welfare state is
not a road to serfdom but rather to fairness, economic equality and international
competitiveness." "This year, we are going to triple the number of daycare centers, making
the same amount of progress that we had made in the previous 30 years." "My goal, by the end of my administration, is... to offer all Chilean
children an equal chance to develop during the first eight years of their
lives, whatever their social origin, gender, place of birth or family
situation." “Take a national child care program, in my view the biggest loss
in the Liberal downfall. What if the losing parties, who all favour it,
impose it? They have the votes to do so. But rather than let his government
fall on the matter, what if Mr. Harper agreed to it, on condition that
his own child care subsidy, or tax benefit, be enacted, too.” "I am convinced that when future generations look back they will
recognize in our pan-Canadian approach to early learning, a project of
nation-building in the same sense as universal medicare." "We have been clear from the very beginning that we need a national
child care program that is worth its salt and that actually will deliver
on the principles that so many people have worked on based on research
from many jurisdictions in the world. We need a national child care program
that will provide a quality product for which we can all be proud and
one we will speak to in the same tone as we speak today as Canadians to
our health care system and our education system". “Everybody now understands, I think…that early learning and
child care fused together is the kind of objective which any civilized
society strives for, and that it becomes an indispensable and vital dimension
of a child’s life, enhancing all of the family characteristics which
shore up the child, but profoundly influencing in the most positive imaginable
way the opportunities for the child.” From the year-end interview with Prime Minister Martin in Maclean’s, December 17, 2004:
"The time has come for a truly national system of early learning
and child care, a system based on the four key principles that parents
and child care experts say matter -- quality, universality, accessibility
and development. The Government will put the foundations in place with
its provincial and territorial partners, charting a national course that
focuses on results, builds on best practices and reports on progress to
Canadians." "We must move to address the issues that matter most to Canadians:
to strengthen health care, to reduce waiting lists, to build a national
system of child care and early learning...That is what I pledge that we
will do tonight and throughout the next mandate." "Readiness to learn is shaped at the earliest stages of childhood.
That is why early childhood development is a national priority. That is
why we will accelerate the implementation of the federal-provincial agreement
on early learning and care." "[If] we're serious-if we're really serious-about making Canadians
the healthiest people in the world, we have to be serious about investing
in the early years education and child care." "I'm very proud of the infrastructure, the human infrastructure
that we have been building together in support of our children and families...that
investment is as important, if not more important, than investing in streets
and roads and the other kind of traditional infrastructure..." "We cannot afford to waste the talent and experience of women in
our country. We need to massively invest in child care." "The need for deliberately provided early learning experiences and
intellectual stimulation outside the home may no longer be limited to
children from the most obviously disadvantaged households…numerous
children of non-needy and relatively well-educated parents are spending
much of their time in sub-optimal care arrangements that do not provide
the fullest opportunities for early development." "Child care is a key step towards achieving the ultimate goal of
increasing the quality of life of Canadians." "As other countries move toward universal care, Canada -- with the exception
of Quebec, considered by daycare advocates a model for the rest of the
country -- continues to drag its feet." "The issue of child-care has once again landed in the lap of the
provincial government and, like a two-year-old covered in peanut butter,
it can't be ignored." "If States are to fulfill their obligations under the Convention on the
Rights of the Child they will have to stop seeing early childhood care
as an issue of concern to families alone, as an optional extra, a soft
alternative. Investing in ECD should now be second nature for the human
family, as natural and inevitable to our lives as the sun and the rain
on a field of rice." "I think there's a way of talking about rights that says we need some
social investment and if we want to have strong families - want to have
equality - if we want to have rights - then we have to stump up the public
goods that make it possible for us to be equal and free at the same time." " A good family policy, providing childcare of good quality, is
a necessary basis for a fair and modern society. It gives parents a possibility
to combine work and family life, it allocates resources so that all children
are guaranteed a good school, childcare and health care. And it gives
all of us the freedom to have children and family life." "..the positive relation between child care quality and virtually every
facet of children's development that has been studied is one of the most
consistent findings in developmental science." "Access to childcare/daycare should become the right of every child
by virtue of Canadian citizenship, and not restricted by either income
class or whether both spouses are gainfully employed." "My biggest regret is that we weren't able to get agreement on
a child care program. I think still that that is one of the gaps or vacuums
in our social structure because it relates so clearly to the fact that
families need to have better care for their children... that parents both
are working and need to have that support...." "[modern families] need help to survive...effective child protection,
universal access to health care, affordable child care, first-rate primary
and secondary education - these are the building blocks of the protective
arch that society must raise over its families. This institutional arch
doesn't come cheap but those exponents of family values who won't stump
up for it are just engaging in cheap talk." "..investment in the development and care of our youngest children
is the most fundamental form of good leadership" “Children and families in poverty can and do benefit while they
participate in Head Start. To change lives, however, broader social changes
are required. Children need health care and adequte nutrition for life,
strong families, safe environments, good schools, child care and positive
role models if they are to develop optimally. No matter how much policy
makers would like to believe otherwise, early intervention cannot overcome
the risks associated with poverty.” “That is why investing in people means early childhood development.
For the care and nurturing our children receive in their earliest years
is critical in ensuring that they arrive at school ready to learn....” “As a society, we should be insisting through our politicians that
the scarcity of parent time be compensated in part by universally available,
affordable, developmentally appropriate child care.” "In addition to health care renewal, governments have also agreed
to work together to improve the well-being of Canadian children, by putting
in place the investments and plans to help all families ensure that their
children grow to be healthy, ready to learn and able to seize opportunities
later in life." "...special effort must be directed to early childhood health and
development. Participants discussed the importance of universal access
to early childhood programs..." “We are suggesting
that society needs to focus its efforts and resources...Then and only
then can we be confident that the next generation of children will have
the good early childhood experiences that will enable them to achieve
- for themselves and for society - their potential for personal success
and for both human and economic productivity. "Let there be no doubt: assisting families is not only the smart
thing to do, it is the right thing to do." "Less talk, more action. The Committee is challenging decision-makers
in the public and private sectors to do "less talking" and "more
delivering"...A state and a society based on the social investment
principle is one where...the caring role of the family is valued and supported
by strong community institutions, thoughtful public policies and family-friendly
work arrangements. Families wish to take responsibility for the healthy
development of their children, but they cannot do this alone. Governments
and corporations must provide access to robust education, health, community
services, flexible working hours, good quality child care and parental
leave..." Jacques Chirac then-Mayor of Paris, 1986 David Lange, then-Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1988 The Saturday Evening Post, 1943 Eleanor Roosevelt on the closure of the war-time
child care centres in the US in 1945 Elsie Stapleford, then-Director of the Ontario Day
Nurseries Branch, 1976 Brian Mulroney, 1984 Judge Rosalie Abella, 1984 John Turner, then - Leader of the Federal Liberals,
1986 Brian Mulroney, 1987 Benoit Bouchard, Minister of Health and Welfare
Canada, 1992 Jean Chrétien, launching the Red Book,
1993 The Red Book, 1993 National Forum on Health, 1997 United Nations, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women, 1982 (Canada is a signatory) William Blatz, founder of the Institute of Child Study
in 1942. Nelson Mandela Tom Kent The Economist Joan Grant-Cummings OECD's Employment, Labour & Social Affairs Committee National Council of Welfare Al Gore Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF Edward Zigler |
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