See text below.
Excerpts from the press release:
OTTAWA &em; The premiers must take on Stephen Harper's plan to limit the federal spending powers when they meet the prime minister on Friday, say child care advocates
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"We hear that this meeting is all about the economy. Child care is at the heart of that discussion &em; for children, parents and the country. It doesn't take a PhD to see that early learning and child care is central to our country's ability to compete internationally in the 21st century," says Mab Oloman, acting coordinator for Code Blue.
Code Blue has written an open letter to the provincial and territorial premiers urging them to press Stephen Harper to use the federal spending power to expand early childhood education and child care services.
"Without federal funding and leadership, we'll remain at the bottom of the barrel of industrialized countries when it comes to child care services," says Jody Dallaire, Chairperson of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC). "Without vision, leadership and collaboration, even the basic early childhood education and care services now available will erode," adds Dallaire.
The letter stresses that Harper's plan to limit spending powers will have long-term implications for any new social program, including child care.
"The federal spending power gave us Medicare &em; an innovation born in Saskatchewan. We need the same groundbreaking push on child care. It's the only way Canadian parents and children will benefit from the kind of affordable early learning and child care services available in Quebec," says Emily King, CCAAC Project Director