Once again, the message was loud and clear. For many parents and child-care providers in Salmon Arm, the Conservative government’s policy regarding child care is not working. MP Colin Mayes and Roxena Goodine, MLA George 
Abbott’s assistant, were front and centre to answer questions at a meeting last week of about 30 child-care providers and parents. The political representatives heard that the Conservative policy of one hundred dollars per month per child under six does not begin to cover the cost of child care, nor does it provide enough to allow a parent to stay home without working. It also displaces the operating grants to child-care providers, meaning they cannot create enough spaces to fill the need for child care in the community, particularly with the wages they’re forced to pay. There are currently about 500 children on waiting lists in Salmon Arm. Even allowing for duplication, those lists are unacceptably long. It’s common practice for mothers to put their unborn babies on the lists, in the hope that a spot will open up by the time the child will need to attend.
Abbott’s assistant, were front and centre to answer questions at a meeting last week of about 30 child-care providers and parents. The political representatives heard that the Conservative policy of one hundred dollars per month per child under six does not begin to cover the cost of child care, nor does it provide enough to allow a parent to stay home without working. It also displaces the operating grants to child-care providers, meaning they cannot create enough spaces to fill the need for child care in the community, particularly with the wages they’re forced to pay. There are currently about 500 children on waiting lists in Salmon Arm. Even allowing for duplication, those lists are unacceptably long. It’s common practice for mothers to put their unborn babies on the lists, in the hope that a spot will open up by the time the child will need to attend. Mayes, however, says the provinces are in charge of social services, not the feds. The provincial government’s stance, meanwhile, is that the blame lies at the feet of the federal government. Goodine said B.C. has not cut child-care funding by one dime. However, the provincial government has not stepped in to maintain the enhancements made possible by the federal money, something other provinces have done. So the bottom line is, while the federal and provincial governments are busy blaming each other, the child-care crisis for parents and children in the community worsens. Unfortunately for our community’s children, assigning fault and blame doesn’t solve problems. It’s time for both our provincial and federal governments to put their money where their collective mouths are, and to pay up. Not doing so will cost untold millions more in the long run.
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