Thursday, February 22, 2007

Childcare Under Attack

And now for something completely different...

I've been posting some silly things here, but for those of you who think (like I did, until last week) that Canada is a child-friendly place where things like free neighborhood drop-in toddler playtimes are still the norm, I've got some bad news: the federal government (thank you "family-oriented" Conservative Party) has slashed funding for BC's childcare services, and -- so far -- the BC provincial government has not stepped up to the plate to finance the services. This means that vital (and I mean *VITAL*) services like West Coast Childcare Resource Center will be SHUT DOWN within six months. Other amazing resources, such as the West Side Family Place will also face severe cutbacks in services -- possibly so severe as to make them unusable for the majority of the communities they are serving.

Click here for more information on the new budget cuts


What can you do? Tell your elected representatives to restore funding to these crucial resources for families of young children. Go protest in Victoria. Share this information with everyone you know. The BCGEU has a great webpage full of information on how you can get involved and help restore -- and even improve -- our community's childcare system. There are sample letters you can print out and sign, complete w/ addresses. There's even an awesome animation (that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time).

Please do something.

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