YWCA Toronto | letter to Prime Minister Harper and opposition leaders

code blue for childcare

February 20th, 2006

An open letter to:

Prime Minister Harper
Bill Graham, Leader of the Liberal Party
Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois Party
Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP

The Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada along with our partners in the Code Blue for Child Care Campaign call on you, the Prime Minister and the leaders of the opposition parties, to work together to protect Canada’s child care program. We ask you to publicly commit to meeting together immediately to develop a plan to maintain the existing child care program while building on this foundation to ensure that the needs of both children and their families are served.

The federal-provincial early learning and child care agreements have laid the foundation for the child care program that Canadians have been demanding for decades. We expect that all parties can work together to maintain and build on these agreements.

Honouring these agreements should not be traded off against other important family supports. The reality is that families need both income supports and publicly funded child care services.

We call on all parties to protect and enhance progress on child care; the Canadian public demands and expects it. Elected members in minority parliaments must be willing to find common ground to move forward. We urge you to take the first step forward on behalf of Canadian children and their families by agreeing to meet to resolve the child care crisis.

Sincerely,

Please add you name by going to www.buildchildcare.ca.