Note to PCQ friends
Dear PCQ Friends,
Remember two years ago when Parents for Choice and Quality was born? Parents and concerned Islanders came together to speak out about the proposed legislative changes to the Child Care Facilities Act because of limited parent consultation.
April will be on Compass tonight discussing the fact that last week, our elected Government passed Bill 47 which changed one word – “Shall” to “May”. While this little change might look like a minor housekeeping issue, it is far from it. It now allows the Child Care Facilities Board to deny a child care license even if it application meets all the criteria.
There is also an article in the Guardian today for which the President of Parents for Choice & Quality, Jane was interviewed. Jane voiced many of the concerns that we have regarding this issue.
There has been extremely limited parent consultation in regards to the Early Learning Action Plan that will be released shortly. On the outside, it looks like Government is focusing more on the needs of the sector (child care operators) and not on the needs of Island children.
Do you see Government interfering with other sectors who wish to open up a public service? Child care is funded through parent fees and until Government funds the system 100% they do not have the right to have such authority to cap or freeze child care spaces.
Imagine if Government interfered with the Restaurant Sector on PEI and created a Restaurant Licensing Board who would grant licenses. On this board were other restaurant owners who could turn down your license because they had the authority to freeze the number of restaurant seats in a geographical area. It would be a conflict of interest for other restaurant owners to be able to sit on such a board and have that authority.
Why does our Government feel that they need a Child Care Facilities Board? If an application meets the criteria (health and safety standards) then a Government staff person should have the authority to issue a license. This is how things are done in many other Canadian provinces. This board needs to be removed from this process and their energy focused directly on the best interests of children.
Stay tuned for more announcements being released by Government this week. How do you feel about this?
Jane Boyd, President
April Ennis, Vice-President
Parents for Choice and Quality Society
