785 10 13630 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/0f2e9581505c836631eec6f1b46e625f.pdf 9ca5b14b14bd8d918eef4434c21326e2 PDF Text Text Northvvestern Ontario Day Care ·Nevvs June 1989 i -- I DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing day care groups throughout the region, information about what's happening on the scenes, both in terms of governmental advocacy groups' activities. of information between as well as providing federal and provincial policy/legislation and We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans, we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send articles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4V5. ***************************************************************** WEIGHTING FACTOR RESEARCH PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In 1983 the federal government informed the province that what was known as the "indirect sLtbsidy" must cease, and the provincial government informed the municipalities that the indirect subsidy would be eliminated at the end of 1986. This decision created a crisis for many Northwestern Ontario day care centres, which were heavily dependent on the indirect subsidy, and were threatened with closure if the subsidy was removed. Northwestern Ontario day care officials, parents, workers and advocates mobilized around this issue of the removal of the indirect subsidy and made representation to the Hon. John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services, in order to "save our Northwestern Ontario centres". The Minister responded by providing a transitional grant program to replace the indirect subsidy, which has, temporarily, secured our centres. It has long been acknowledged that service delivery in the North is more expensive than in the south. The transitional grant has helped to cover some of these additional costs, but only to municipal day care centres. The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee recognized the need for special funding for all day care centres in the North. They applied to, and were funded by Ontario Women's . Directorate· for the "Weighting Factor Research Project". A researcher, Lee Angus, began work on the project April 1, 1989. A committee of the NWORDCC co-ordinates the project. Other Ministries have developed financial formulas for funding of service delivery in the North. Two of these~ the weighting factor, �Page 2 June 1989 for the Ministry of Education and the unconditional grants for Municipal Affairs, are being analyzed. These programs are being examined in terms of background, factors that are used to indicate need for additional funding, and how the actual formula for funding is implemented. Another portion of the research includes gathering examples of the higher cost of service delivery in the North. Every centre must have at least one example of a shipment being delayed and therefore programmes must be changed or of the high cost of finding staff. Please, we would like to hear about your experiences and frustrations. You can contact Lee Angus at 807-345-8803 or write to the NWORDCC at Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ont.P7C 4V5 to help us with this portion of the research. We anticipate that recommendations for a weighting factor formula for the funding of day care in the North will be ready in the fall of 1989. continuing the tours in the community. Special events planned for this summer include a Parent Tea, a picnic/swim, a Fall Fair (booth and craft competitions), hikes, and the introduction of our computer, etc. Earlier this year we all had fun contributing our ideas and plans towards our proposed extension. The extension will house our , rural resource program, integrated program, art room and toy lending library. The clubhouse model, for our 6-9 year olds, will allow more freedom for this group of children. We hope to expand this program to include children up to the age of 12. Our integrated program has become a full time position, with Nancy Proteau being promoted to this position. Julie Davis will return from maternity leave to become a half time teacher. We continue experiencing a shortage of qualified Early Childhood Education teachers. At the moment we have three full time positions open. REGIONAL NEWS GERALD TON Submitted by The Geraldton Day Care Centre La Garderie De Geraldton Staff The staff and children at the Geraldton Day Care Centre have been busy with special events, such as toboganning, a skating program, snow sculptures, a Beach Day, as well as Recently our centre had a booth at the Kitcheeogamah People Services Fair and we found this to be an excellent opportunity to educate the public in the area of child care services in the area. A long waiting list, continues to be the norm, especially for the 2 1/2 to 5 year olds. Have a nice summer! �June 1989 Page 3 ****************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY The Corporation of the Town of Geraldton Requires DAY CARE CENTRE TEACHER $21,500-$24,500 <Under Review) Responsibilities include participation with children in planned and routine activities and providing a stimulating and nurturing environment one which creates independence and individualism. The Geraldton Day Care Centre/La Garderie de Geraldton is an integrated centre licensed for 49 children which also provides Rural Resource and Toy Library services to the community. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * Qualifications: The preferred candidate will possess skills in working with parents and children, as well as an Early Childhood Education college diploma or AECEO equivalency. Bilingualism while not a required qualification* would be considered an asset. * * * * * * * * Qualified applicants should forward their applications stating personal history, education and experience to: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Miss Diane Sarrazin, Supervisor, * Geraldton Day Care Centre/ * La Garderie de Geraldton, * P.O. Box 70 * GERALDTON, Ontario * P0T 1M0 * * ****************************************************** P/eQ.:se m 0.y -sAQre +hi$ J..e/F .so ,n eone /-he. Ge,..a.JJ../.on Do.y F"e.sel"I../- -/-irne Th.a.nits are wi./-h o..c:l. +i r, Ctt.. re J. o+Aer-.s. 'fou.. e rry:~ Io)' Ce. fr.e look.inJ m ~" ~ o..r,J_ Ao a.:+- ./-/.. e for '3 s-?-a.# reorle. f\ 1.4,) �Page 4 June 1989 NEW FACILITIES THUNDER BAY Submitted by Playcare Centre Schoolhouse The Schoolhouse Playcare Centre of Thunder Bay has been selected by the Ministry of Education as one of the four Child Care Centres that are located in a school setting to take part in a pilot project. The project will demonstrate aspects of co-ordination that may occur between the child care programs and the classrooms at the school. The project will begin Sept. 1, 1989 and will end by June 29, 1990. A project coordinator will be hired to work closely with the director and staff of the Playcare Centre and the principal and staff of St. James School. Some aims and of the objectives are: -to bring a N.W.O. perspective of the needs of children in both sections -to strengthen the ties between our target school and the existing child care programme in terms of programming, sharing information, and timetabling -to use community, school, Board, and Playcare resources and staff to strengthen our respective programmes -to include parents as vital members of our programme, to ensure maximum interaction among child care, school and home -to keep in mind at all times the needs, interests and abilities of the children involved. Submitted by Anita Price In Thunder Bay at Confederation College we are looking forward to moving into our new facility in September. The spaces we helped to design are taking shape. The steel beams are all in place, the windows are in, and in the next few weeks, the builders will be working on the interior putting up the drywall. We don't have our start up funding in place for the fall, so we will be moving into our new building with the existing programs. We are excited about our expansion to infant and toddler care and feel confident that the set up of the new building will facilitate a family atmosphere. Each of our 2 sections will offer care to 3 infants, 5 toddlers and 8 preschoolers. The other programs we will be offering are Nursery School for 24 children, After Kingergarten Care for 20 children, 10 spaces for After School Care, and 16 spaces for short term part-time care. The present Community Centre playroom will accommodate 24 children. The playground space is in the process of being designed. �June 1989 Page 5 PROJECT CHILD-CARE Submitted by Barbara Buie, Child Care Co-ordinator, Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital We are presently working towards establishing a Workplace Child Care Centre to serve employees of the Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital and Northwestern Regional Centre. The purpose of the centre is to provide accessible, affordable, and excellent quality child care for the children of employees at these two facilities. An Awareness Day was held on June 15, in the hospital cafeteria, to promote this project. The main objective was to increase the awareness of our proposed Day Care, as well as the whole aspect of quality child-care in the Community. We are working with a positive attitude towards the funding of this project and hope to hear from the Ministry by the end of June. of Community and Social Services for capital costs. The Hub Model will house 48 children, 4 of these with special needs, aged 18 months to 9 years of age. A Private Home Day Care Office, storage, and a toy lending/resource will also be included. A meeting was held with M.P.P. Howard Hampton where we expressed our concerns on day care issues. We wi 11 be meeting with him again in June. Bob Nault M.P. has agreed to meet with us at a 1 ater date. A 1 arge cookie poster was sent to Mr. Wilson, asking for the expansion of funds for child care. We are pleased that approval for a summer student, under the Challenge '89 program, who will work with our school age children was received. Upcoming activities include our Annual Father's Day Luncheon, Day Care Graduation, and entering a float in the July 1st parade. FORT FRANCES Submitted by Fort Frances Day Care Child Development Centre and Both Council and the Ministry have given us approval to go ahead with our new building and we are presently working with architects, Fraser and Browne, on the plans for our new Hub Model Centre. Negotiations are also continuing with the Ministry - / '°VHAT AB04T KANt,1N 6 '? ' .. ...~ ·:•~~ L I �Page 6 June 1989 BUDGET BAD NEWS #1 The provincial budget delivered by Treasurer Robert Nixon on May 17th was a disappointment. There were no new initiatives to address the crisis in spaces/subsidized spaces. A major initiative in the budget is $194 million for kindergarten programs, with all Boards of Education being mandated to provide half-day Junior and Senior kindergarten, and encouraged to provide full-day Senior kindergarten where space is available. This program begins in the 1990/91 school year. What impact will this initiative have on child care? The government suggests that ''the extension of JK and SK programs should help reduce the pressure for additional child care spaces". However, there does not appear to be plans for complementary before, during lunch, and after-school care. Without appropriate ''latch-key' services families will continue to experience child care problems. As well, in an expanded kindergarten program, consideration must be given to appropriate child-staff ratios and teacher training. While generally supporting this initiative, these concerns must be raised to ensure comprehensive and quality care for our children. In response to the report of the Social Assistance Review Committee, the budget also includes initiatives "to encourage economic independence among social assistance recipients", through the Supports to Employment Program <STEP>. Recognizing that "the greatest impediment to single parents working outside the home is the cost of child care" STEP will allow single parents to deduct child care expenses, up to specified limits, from their earned income. (These limits have not yet been set.) While this initiative will offer relief to the target group, it fails to address the more basic problem of the inadequacy of subsidized spaces in licensed day care programs. BUDGET BAD NEWS #2 On April 27, Finance Minister Michael Wilson cancelled plans tq proceed with a National Child Care Program in Canada. Pleading poverty, he has broken federal government promises since 1984 to expand and support the child care system. L �June 1989 Page 7 While we rejoice at the demise of Bill C-144 (the Canada Child Care Act>, we find it deplorable that the federal government has not developed appropriate new plans to fund a comprehensive child care system. We are left with the child care tax measures passed last year which favour high income earners and will not build a child care system. NO MORE BAKE SALES In protest of the lack of action by the federal government re child care a national BAKE OFF was organized in early June by the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association and the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. The theme No More Bake Sales For Us, Mr. Wilson! illustrates the frustration felt by day care parents/workers who for all these years have been forced to hold bake sales (raffles, etc.> to try to balance the day care budget. Perhaps Mr. Wilson should try financing the deficit with bake sales. Day care advocates from across the country participated in the Bake Off and sent baking to Finance Minister Wilson to demonstrate out point. In Thunder Bay the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee joined with the Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council to participate in the Bake Off. Mounds of baking were presented to Thunder Bay-Atikokan M.P. Iain Angus who delivered the baking to Mr. Wilson on our behalf. (We understand Mr. Angus carried the baking to Ottawa in the box that had delivered the budget papers ... a further significant gesture!) The NWORDCC's contribution to the Bake Off was stale cookies, indicative of the length of time Canadian families have waited for the federal government to take action on the child care crisis, and crumbled cookies, representative of the broken promises of the Conservative Government. GET THE BUDGET BACK ON TRACK Closely following the Bake Off, we joined another budget protest to "Get the Budget Back on Track''. Representatives of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, the Pro-Canada Network and the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Workers, travelled coast to coast protesting the federal budget pointing out that: "Past and present generations of Canadians have developed a unique social contract with their government. Through this social contract, Canadians have claimed their basic democratic rights as citizens to a system of social programs designed to ensure decent employment, education, consumer protection, cultural development, and fair taxation. The current federal government is now breaking that social contract. The Free Trade Agreement has set the stage for �Page 8 June 1989 harmonizing our economy and social programs with the economy and social programs of the United States. The recent Wilson budget serves to accelerate this process. Together, these economic strategies will destroy the investment of past generations in our national and democratic future." On June 9th, about 150 Thunder Bay people gathered at the CPR station with petitions outlining our NWO concerns for the protesting travellers to take to Ottawa. The Northwestern Ontario protest centred on child care, Via Rail and postal service cuts, Air Canada privitization, regressive sales tax, U.I.C., Old Age Security, Family Allowances and cuts to Secretary of State Women's programs. Congratulations go to the Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council who spearheaded the Thunder Bay event, which ,was an energyzing rally, complete with protest songs led by the "Raging Grannies". A similar rally was organized in Kenora by Women's Place, Kenora. . . . . . .I .I .I I. .I .I I. I I I I I I I I I . . . .. . ... . . .... ..... I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I BUDGET BAD NEWS #3 The Conservative Government's lack of commitment to social development was demonstrated by its cuts to Secretary of State programs. Most seriously affected will be Native and Women's programs. The NWORDCC, which receives our primary funding from Secretary of State Women's Programs, may experience budget cuts of 30-35%. The federal budget is bad news to all of us--collectively and individually. I I I . I . I . I ..... I I I I I .I .I .I ... I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I THE C-PET PROJECT ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I I I I I I I I The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care proposes to set up the Community and Parent Education and Training Project CC-PET> to provide resource materials to parents, staff and community leaders with regard to starting, operating, and strengthening high quality child care. profit, parent/community board child care services over the last several years has occurred at a faster rate than the infrastructure to support it. Many of these centres have limited access to information, advice and skills. Many parents often experience guilt and frustration, and find it. difficult to sustain consistent involvement. The To aid parents, staff rapid expansion of non- and the �June 1989 Page 9 community the project will: -develop a comprehensive handbook/manual for use by parent/community boards of directors of child care programs, -develop and distribute manuals in close collaboration with a province-wide Advisory Committee drawn from various sectors and regions of the province, -and where possible make materials available in French. This project will develop over an eighteen month period. In future newsletters, we will keep you informed as to when materials will be available for community, board, parent, and staff use. FORUM 1989 Forum 1989, sponsored by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee, with the financial support of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, convened in Thunder Bay March 31st, April 1st, 1989. This Regional Day Care Forum brought together over 60 day care parents, workers, administrators and advocates from across Northwestern Ontario. On Friday evening a Round Table Discussion was held where representatives from Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Fort Frances, Atikokan, Geraldton and Thunder Bay outlined the major day care concerns in their respective communities, which included: the direct operating grant; expansion of child care programs; expansion of subsidized spaces; quality issues in child care programs; expansion of subsidized spaces; quality issues in child care; relationship of day care and Board/Ministry of Education; recruitment of qualified staff, staff training, and professional development. Kay Eastham, Director, Child Care Branch, Ministry of Commubnity and Social Services, addressed the Forum, providing a "report card" of the province's New Directions for Child Care two years 1 ater. Following Ms. Eastham's address, a productive discussion period occurred with dialogue between the participants and Ms. Eastham in respect to key Northwestern Ontario issues. Federal policy was discussed by a panel Karen Stotsky, Board Member, Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association; Sue Colley, Executive Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; and Anita Price, Council Member, Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee. The issues surrounding the federal child care strategy were reviewed, and an overview of action taken by the NWORDCC in respect to the leiislation previously introduced (Bill C144) was provided. Strategy sessions to plan local and regional action followed the panel. A workshop was held to discuss Income Testing. Mr. Bryan Stanish, Manager, Funding �Page 10 June 1989 Unit, Child Care Branch, provided an overview of the status of the Ministry's Income Testing project, and identified issues in respect to 'needs testing' and 'income testing'. Participants outlined problems with the current system, and identified Northwestern Ontario issues concerning the move to income testing. Participants indicated the desirability of comprehensive consultation throughout the entire process of moving to income testing. A workshop on Planning and Organizing for Day Care provided information on various models of day care in Ontario, and initiated discussion on resources needed by day care organizations to ensure effective operations. This workshop is viewed as a first step which requires follow-up to further determine the most appropriate ways to provide training, development and resources to the Northwestern Ontario day care community. The Forum also provided informal opportunities for networking. As well a Tour of several community day care centres provided valuable information for Forum participants planning new programs. 1989/90 Council Members The annual business meeting and Council elections of the NWORDCC were held in conjunction with the Regional Forum. Your 1989/90 Council members are: Barb Buie Thunder Bay Paul Capon Thunder Bay Mary Ducharme Fort Frances Margaret Hajdinjak Thunder Bay Phyllis Kellar Fort Frances Veronica Kreidl Marathon Kelly Massaro-Joblin Thunder Bay Bernice Picard Longlac Anita Price Thunder Bay Holly Rupert Red Lake Diane Sarrazin Geraldton Eva Shields Atikokan Maria Swain Grassy Narrows Gina Valente Thunder Bay Marilyn Wells Siow: Lookout �• June 1989 Page 11 MEMBERSHIP At the 1988 Forum a membership structure for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee was approved. Memberships are now available. Membership categories are: Category A: Municipal Councils/Indian Band Council; Day Care Centres; Professional Organizations; Regional Associations; Labour Unions. Fee: $50.00 Category B: Parent Groups, Voluntary Community Organizations. Fee: $25.00 Category C: Individuals. Fee: $5.00 To join, please complete this application form, detach and return to: N.W.O.R.D.C.C. P.O. Bex 144 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V5 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION I believe in the purpose of The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee and I wish to become a member. Signature Name: ______________________________________ _ Address: ___________________________________ _ Postal Code: _______________________________ _ Phone Number: ___________ Fee Enclosed _______ _ Category: A____ B____ _ Thank you for your support. c ____ _ �• Page 12 June 1989 RECIPE FOR CHILDCARE SERVES: ALL CANADIANS INGREDIENTS: -TONS OF HIGH QUALITY -100% NON-PROFIT -SUBSIDIES FOR ALL WHO NEED THEM -GUARANTEED UNIVERSAL ACCESS -GUARANTEED SPACES -FLEXIBLE SPECIAL NEEDS SERVICES PREPARATION TIME: OVERDUE COOl<ING TIME: A.S.A.P. METHOD: MIX ALL INGREDIENTS THOROUGHLY IN A LARGE MULTICULTURAL SETTING, THROW IN ADEQUATE GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP AND FUND UNTIL ALL CHILDREN ARE WELL CARED FOR. PLACE IN HIGH PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, June 1989 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News June 1989. Includes information about the Weighting Factor Research Project; day care news from Geraldton, Thunder Bay, and Fort Frances; Project Child Care at the Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital; Ontario Provincial budget news regarding subsized spaces and kindergarten; Bill C-144 the Canada Child Care Act and National Child Care; No More Bake Sales national campaign organized by the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association and the National Action Committee on the Status of Women; budget protest "Get the Budget Back on Track"; Secretary of State Women's Programs; the C-Pet Project; Regional Forum 1989; 1989/90 Council Members and membership. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-06 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_89june Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Geraldton Canada - Ontario - Fort Frances https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/0107cbda67ca2b51a048477d16f618ae.pdf 8c39d5f900d7699a7b60a71446b16fe2 PDF Text Text ✓ Northvvestern Ontario Day Care Nevvs ~ NWO DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout the region, as well as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmental policy/legislation and advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans, we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send articles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4VS NOVEMBER 1989 COUNCIL NOTES The Council of the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee met Saturday, September 30th for a very busy day of discussion and action. In fact, we had so much work to do we didn't complete the agenda and will meet again this fall to finalize the Weighting Factor project, and begin discussion about "education and day care". From our September meeting three issues emerged that the Council will give continuing consideration to: * staff training needs of Native centres (Maria Swain outlined the problems that the staff employed by her centre experience in acquiring training - a oroblem that is common to many Native centres. New opportunities to provide appropriate training must be explored.) * attracting and retaining ECE staff (Many regional centres are now experiencing shortages of ECE staff, in contrast to 1986 when NWO had a very high percentage of ECE. As one day care administrate expressed ... "the direct grant came too late!" * capital projects are being restricted to minimums (It is disheartening when centres that are trying to match new facilities to. their creative vision of quality spaces/programs are hampered by the funder's insistance of cutting to bare bones minimum. But this seems to be common.) MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE The Membership Comnittee met recently, developed plans, and established targets. It was decided that the membership year would be from January 1 to December 31st of each year. Memberships purchased in the remainder of 1989 will be considered 1990 memberships, With the decrease in our grant it will be necessary to raise more of our budget through membership fees. We would be grateful if each reader of this newsletter would recommend friends, coworkers, etc. who might be interested in becoming a member, (Send name to N.W.O.R.D.C.C Box 144, Thunder Bay, P7C 4VS phone 345-8803) And if you haven't as yet purchased your membership please do so now. (see back page for application) �2 NEW DIRECTIONS DERAILED With the announcement of New Directions for Child Care in June 1987 spirits soared in the day care community. At last, we thought, the province is taking the day care issue seriously. The focus of New Directions for Child Care seemed to respond to the concerns raised by day care advocates for more than a decade: * * * move child care from a welfare connotation to that of a basic public service ensure a range of appropriate services for all families provide high quality care * recognize the value of child care work by improvement of staff wages. Moving from this sound base it seemed that Ontario was taking the right path to meet child care needs. Operating for three-year planning cycles the Ministry outlined initiatives to be taken during the first three years. This first cycle ends March 1990 ... a brief five months away. It is time for some assessment. Have the objectives of New Directions been met? Have the expectations of the child care community been realized? Unfortunately, NO. Major initiatives that would significantly shape the direction of child care have been discarded or "put on hold". Let's look at some of the policy statements made and initiatives planned and see what has and hasn't happened. "In keeping with its commitment to make child care more affordable, the government will replace the current needs-test with an income test as the eligibility screen for subsidy. Work on the design of an appropriate income test for Ontario has begun and implementation is targeted for the 1988/89 fiscal year," In September we were informed that the implementation of income testing would not proceed. "Ontario's comprehensive, integrated approach to child care will be embodied in the drafting of a new Child Care Act. This new legislation will be developed through a public consultation process, beginning with the release of a discussion paper in the 1988/89 fiscal year. The introduction of a new Child Care Act is expected to be achieved by the end of the first three-year planning cycle, setting the stage for the next three-year cycle." While we understand that work is being done on a new Child Care Act, the N.W.O,R.D.C.C. has not been invited to be part of any consultation process, and has not seen a discussion paper. We have no indication when the new Child Care Act will be introduced (but are convinced it will not be in place by March 1990) �3 "Projects which strengthen boards of directors and involve parents in child care decision-making and management will be encouraged." In November 1987 the Funding Advisory Committee prepared detailed guidelines for non-profit boards. The F.A.C. recommendations were not accepted by the Ministry. Great concern exists about the potential for the proliferation of pseudo-non-profits, in the absence of firm guidelines. The Ministry has recently appointed an Advisory Committee to the Survey of Management Practice in the Non-Profit Child Care sector to determine what policy and program development initiatives will most likely support effective management practice within this sector. While the N.W,O.R.D.C.C. has agreed to participate in this committee we do so with a sense of frustration. Had the Ministry acted on the advice of the F.A.C., the Coalition, and other representatives of the day care community, issues surrounding the non-profit sector would have been resolved several years ago. Studying the situation yet again will only further delay needed action. "For the first time, direct operating grants will be available to provide ongoing support for licensed care. Initially, priority will be given to improving salaries." Direct operating grants were implemented in 1988. While many day care organizations flowed the direct grant to wages and benefits, providing a much needed increase in wages for day care staff, it is unfortunate that the Ministry permitted exceptions. Some day care organizations chose to not give the direct grant to staff wages, Consequently, the wage discrepancy within the day care field has increased, which creates its own problems, to say nothing of the effect on the morale of the staff that did not receive the grant. Although, for the majority of centres, the direct grant was indeed advantageous, for a significant minority of centres the direct grant caused chaos. The majority of problems connected to the direct grant were caused by the Ministry allowing exceptions. This was ill-considered and unnecessary. ''The government will continue to expand its financing of child care subsidies. Approximately one-third of the new funding will be directed to increased financing for child care subsidies· to assist about 13,000 more children." We do not have information on how many new subsidized spaces have been created throughout the province in the past three years, Our information indicates, however, that barely 100 new subsidized spaces have been allocated in Northwestern Ontario, "The Ministry of Community and Social Services will assess the effectiveness and consistency of current enforcement and licensing policies under the Day Nurseries Act." (After considerable media exposure re problems of compliance with regulations) the Minister ordered a special task force in February 1989. The task force has already missed one reporting deadline, and has now targetted for October 1989, but, at this writing, the report has not been released, The N.W.O.R.D.C.C. made a submission to (former) Minister John Sweeney, :regarding standards, enforcement and quality, in June 1989, To date we have not had a reply. " new funding will be targetted to support the introduction of direct operati'ng grants to the non~profit sector (our emphasis) �4 "The application of direct grants to the commercial sector forms part of the costsharing negotiations with the federal governme.qt, The province is p;repared to e_xtend these grants to the existing commercial sector; provi'd.ed the current federa,l restrict~ ions are removed. 11• "A range of possible incentives to encourage private agencies to conver,t to non~profit status will also be provided." While commercial day care has not been an issue in Northwestern Ontario, we have expressed in the strongest possible terms that we do not want it to become an issue. Public money should not be given to for-profit operations, We have indicated support for initiatives that would encourage owner-operated commercial day care centres to convert to non-profit, ensuring accountability to parents and the community. Despite the fact that federal-provincial cost-sharing negotiations did not mature, and "current feder~l restrictions'' were not removed, the province has, since April 1988, provided direct operating grants to commercial centres. At present the grant to commercials is 50%, but rumours abound that this will move to 100%, The Ministry has been working on a "conversion" project for several years~ In September we learned that the commercial conversion to non-profit will not be proceeded with. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COMMITMENT TO THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR???? "A significant partnership in the delivery of child care services in Ontari'O is the funding and management role of muni·cipalities. Municipalities are . (involved in) the administration and cost-sharing of day care subsidies, the operation of licensed programs and community-wide planning for child care." "municipal involvment, however, is optional, This has resulted in wide discrepancies in the interpretation of the municipal role, and in local commitment to the provision and expansion of services," "The municipal relationship is being considered as part of (a study) being undertaken by the Ministry of Communi'ty and Social Services, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association. A report on municipal involvement, expected by the fall of 1988, will define the role of municipali ti·es in the planning, funding and delivery of child care services." As of September 1989 there was no indication of when (or if) this report would be made public, or if its recommendations would resolve many of the problems day care advocates have identified, The "wide discrepancies in the interpretation of the municipal role and in local commitment to ... services" continue to create problems for the develop-:ment of accessible, affordable, high-quality child care, "The Ministry of Labour will be reviewing relevant sections of the Employment Standards Act this year with a view to balancing the needs of employed parents, their co-:-workers and employers, in areas such as pregnancy and parental leaves." To our knowledge no action has been taken on improving pregnancy leave provisions or implementing parental leave plans. PROSPECTS FRIGHTENING The realization that so little of New Directions' progressive, albeit modest, plan has been implemented is quite frightening. The objectives of New Directions have not been met within the first three-year cycle. It is becoming increasingly clear that the second three-year cycle will fail to meet the initial goals, much less develop the vision needed to resolve the serious day care problems in Ontario. �5 The Ministry is preparing the second three-yaar cycle plan. public consultation into this planning. There will be no ·nal plan will be. There is, however, -no indication We do not know what the f 1 th t the question of affordability will be addressed (through direct grants to re:uce parent fees or other means). Th:r: is ~o indication that the sub~idized space crisis experienced by many connnun1t1es will be alleviated. There is no indication that any of the initiatives to enhance quality child care will be forthcoming. It seems that the province is saying we gave you the direct grant, we raised (some) workers wages. That's all we are prepared to do. It is not enough. -HfHl'd IEAuf tf e/lAHffJ ., If MEit <4111./? I/AVA Q/iUJl(EN. F.A.C. DISBANDED The Funding Advisory Committee established by the Ministry of Community and Social Services has been disbanded. The decision to disband the Committee was taken by the Ministry despite a clear indication by committee members that we wanted to continue and expand our consultative role. The Committee was formed in late 1987 to advise on the implementation of the direct operating grant and the implementation of income testing. As the direct operating grant has been uimplemented", and as the Ministry is not proceeding with the change to income testing, the Ministry feels there is no longer a role for the Committee. Despite many frustrations when our "advice" was not accepted (e.g. that the direct grant should be a wage grant with no exceptions; that guidelines for non-profit boards should be established) representation on the Funding Advisory Committee was viewed as useful for the N.W.O. R.D.C.C. Participation on the Committee provided the opportunity to gain information that would otherwise have been difficult for our Committee/region to obtain. Funding Advisory Committee members believe that there are many unresolved funding issues that should be addressed by a broadly-based consultative committee. The N.W.O.R.D.C.C. has written to Kay Eastham, Director, Child Care Branch, expressing our concern that the avenue for obtaining and sharing information and advancing the Northwestern Ontario perspective on child care, provided by the Funding Advisory Committee, has been closed. �6 NEW PROGRAMS/CENTRES RAINBOW DAY CARE CENTRE in Atikokan, which opened in April, held their official opening June 12th. Howard Hampton MPP, Iain Angus MP, Ruth Wells MCSS, and Margaret Phillips NWORDCC, participated in the opening ceremonies. Rainbow Day Care presently serves toddlers/preschoolagers, but already has a waiting list for school-age children and are initiating plans to meet this need. Confederation College CHILDREN AND FAMILY CENTRE moved into their new facility in September. Their expanded program is slated for next spring. KINDERPLACE CHILDCARE CENTRE opened its doors in October. A workplace day care, operated by a non-profit board, KINDERPLACE has been planned to respond to the needs of Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital and Northwest Regional Centre staff but will alsd serve the broader community. KINDERPLACE is Thunder Bay's first infant care centre, and when expanded will serve ten infants, ten toddlers and sixteen pre-schoolers. MARATHON DAY CARE moved into their new centre, located in the newly built separate school, in July. Funding for new centres in DRYDEN and FORT FRANCES have recently been announced. KENORA DAY CARE is now offering private home day care in addition to their Centre program. Licensed for 20 children the private home program started in September. DO YOU ENJOY RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER? PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THE NEWSLETTER COST BY PURCHASING YOUR MEMBERSHIP RED LAKE submitted by Holly Rupert At the Red Lake Day Care Centre, we are setting up an integrated program for children with developmental disabilities. Late last summer, the Township of Red Lake received $56,000 in grant funding from the Child Care Initiatives Fund, Health and Welfare Canada. This has allowed us to begin an 18-month pilot project to provide a program for children with special needs. The grant will cover the cost of equipment, resource materials and supplies, as well as wages and some training for a resource teacher. A project co-ordinator -- Holly Rupert, a Council member -- has been hired to set up the program. Right now we are busy defining policy, planning a community promotion strategy for the program, and establishing the necessary liaison with COM SOC for integrated licencing. We plan to hire a resource teacher to begin in January. We expect to be offering actual programming to children in March 1990. We'll have four integrated spaces available. The pilot funding will run until January 1991. After that time, our funding is not certain. However, the program's success will go a long ways towards winning renewed support from Red Lake Council and the necessary fund~ ing from COMSOC. We've received positive support from the local boards of education and several community agencies that also work with children, so we are confident the program will be successful. �7 SCHOOLHOUSE PLAYCARE CENTRE GOOD WISHES TO: submitted by Kelly Massaro-Joblin DIANE SARRAZIN, who moved to North Bay in September to assume a new position with the North Bay and District Association for the Mentally Retarded. Diane, who was Supervisor of Geraldton Day Care Centre/La Garderie de Geraldton, was very active in the formation and the maturation of the N.W.O.R.D.C.C. We wish to thank you, Diane, for your years of hard work both in Geraldton and with the Committee. The Pilot Project is coming along • nicely. We are planning a workshop for St. James parents and staff along with Schoolhouse Playcare Centre parents and staff. The workshop is entitled "Storytime: A Quality Time". This informal workshop for parents and staff will offer easily applied ideas for making this important daily routine an even more rewarding experience for everyone. Emphasis will be on how to capture the child's interest; explore the book together~ how to expand the speaking vocabulary at an early age level when the greatest language acquisition in a childis life takes place; and how to enhance listening appreciation and thinking. A list of particularly suitable books for storytime will be provided - many of them available at the public library. This will assist our early intervention process by helping those children who require help with their language skills along with other children to enjoy reading. GRANT CUT 22% Along with other Northwestern Ontario organizations that receive Secretary of State Women's Program funding, the N.W.O.R.D. C.C. experienced a serious slashing of our grant request. In our case, the budget was cut 22%. The erosion of funding to Secretary of State Women's Programs and its funded community groups, demonstrates that the federal government does not intend to continue its support to groups that advocate social change. While the federal government no doubt hopes to muffle social protest, we are determined that we will not be silenced. KAREN WARBIN, who is pursuing studies during a year's leave of absence from her position as Supervisor of the Dryden Day Care Centre. Karen has been involved with the N.W.O.R.D.C.C. since our inception and was a member of the Weighting Factor committee. MARILYN WELLS, a former member of our Council, is taking on new challenges in the education field, having spent the summer studying in Manitoba. RUTH WELLS, Regional Child Care Co-ordinator, North Region, Ministry of Community and Social Services, has recently relocated to Sault Ste. Marie. Before joining the Ministry, Ruth was active with our Committee. We will miss you in the Northwest, Ruth, and hope that you keep in touch. We also wish RAE ANNE HONEY, Ontario Women's Directorate, a quick return to good health and mobility. �8 MANITOBA MOBILIZES A one-day, province-wide walkout by day care staff at the majority of the Manitoba Child Care Association's centres occured Oct.17th. 2000 day care workers, parents and children demonstrated at Manitoba's legislature protesting the government's decision not to give immediate raises to child care workers. While child care workers wages (which average about $16,000) head the list of problems, increased parent fees, the demands on parent boards to fund raise, and an apparent government move to fund for-profit centres are also major issues in Manitoba. Rural Manitoba day cares have particular needs, which N,W.O. can identify with ... "directors noted food costs are higher in rural areas, field trips for youngsters cost more and the cost of obtaining supplies, usually from Winnipeg, is higher." While no government action was forthcoming, the level of support given to the demonstration by parents was especially encouraging ... and future actions will be planned to urge solutions to the crisis. • G.S.T. The imposition of the planned Goods and Services Tax (G.S.T.) by the federal government will create enormous problems for consumers, small business people • f act, the majority of Canadians. ' in The G.S.T. is being vociferously protested by most Canadians. Day care advocates will add our voice to this protest. Although child care fees are exempt from the G.S.T. many costs of operating day care (supplies, equipment, heating, etc.) will be taxed , adding to centre costs, and reflected in increased fees. POLICY FORUM The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care will hold a Policy Forum November 8, 1989. Evaluating the current state of child care; examining alternatives: and establishing goals and strategies for the future, will be the day long focus of this Fo:um: he issue of day care jurisdiction will provoke considerable discussion. Evening workshops on private home day care pay equity, and the possible , formation of a Non-Profit Child Care Federation will also be h:ld. Forum delegates are in~ vited to participate in the Pay Equity Lobby of MPPs that will take place the following mornin~ Several representatives of the o• ~.W.O.R.D.C.C. will participate in the Forum and will report in the next newsletter. 7 ~· ~i ~ ~~ • ~ ~ ~ G-Zf .. .. . .. �9 WISHES, DREAMS AND GIANTS Rodney Brown's newest recording WISHES, DREAMS and GIANTS should be of special interest to Day Cares in Northwestern Ontario. Released over the summer it has been receiving a very positive response from the public, media and educators in Thunder Bay and indeed across the country. The album cover is beautifully illustrated by Atikokan artist Alana Marohnic. Many of the songs were workshopped while Rodney was doing residencies in Northwestern Ontario schools. Students thoughts and feelings about school, play, tooth-fairies, pets, unicorns and friends make it fun listening for young children. As well as songs written with children the album includes two stories that are adapt~d by Rodney: Pete Seeger's Abiyoyo and Harry Nillson's Rainmaker. A traditional Jamaican folk song Mango Walk is also on the album. We think this recording would make a worthwhile addition to your taped music library. Presently distribution is limited to various Thunder Bay stores, the Children's Bookstore in Toronto and a few other outlets across the country. It is available on album or cassetee and can be ordered by sending a $15.00 (this includes tax, shipping and handling) cheque or money order to Starsilk Records, 212 Wolseley St., Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7A 3G7. Call (807) 344-1057 for any questions you may have. ~ \\~ .. .... \'-"~ \.,,... -~./. c:71 ~- L; ... I A,.~~" PAY EQUITY The Ontario Federation of Labour and the Equal Pay Coalition are mounting a campaign to pressure the government to ensure pay equity provisions are extended to the thousands of women not presently covered by the Act. Proposed changes made to the Pay Equity Commission would: * * * * * * * allow comparisons between jobs in different workplaces include women in workplaces with less than 10 employees raise the minimum wage to $8.30 an hour give part-time workers the same protection and benefits as full time workers make it easier for unorganized women to unionize introduce strong employment equity legislation allocate special funds for pay equity increases throughout the public sector These and other issues will be the subject of the Pay Equity Lobby of provincial MPPS to be held November 9th 1989. �10 TORONTOSTAR.~IONDAY.OCTOBEJI 16. l9ll9 Highest paid day-care staff give best care, study says BY COUH MacKENZIE Globe and Malt Correspondent WIIStnNGION Wa~c rates a.re the ftrentest ~In- gle predictor of the quallly of care ,jffP.red hy day-c::ue cenlres, s11ys a nalion:,I U.S. !litudy released yes- lerdav. The hiRhPr the ••R••• the beller 1he c.1rt". !liaid the 11uthnrs or the study that survey<d 227 centres In flvp U.S. citle•. 1 he centrrs th•t paid the best trnrtt"d tn he flfffl•fln,flt, hflve bP.tlf"f·'Jmllifird :'iililff and lower rnt~ nf lllnNlVt"f. Sl:lff turnnvP.r w:u& 41 pPr cent In l~RR. up from 1he ts rer cent re- ported in a shnllar 1977 study. And thrre was :t direct corre- lation hetween salaries and turnovP.r: 54 pP.r cent In centres paying IP.5~ than SI an hour, 27 per cent In centres paying more than $6 an hour. "Chlldrrn In cent,.,. with higher turnover rates !Cpent less time engaR<d In socl•I Activities •llh pef!rs and more lime In atmleH wandoring," ••id the study, which also notl?d lower vncabulary test scores for !Ct~ch ce~trr!lt. There Is also a dlSIUrbln~ pallern In such turnnver, •aid Deborah Phillip•, • University of Vlr-lnla education professor and • CO• aulhnr or the •tudy. New workers lncreasln~ly tend to he les• quoitfled than they ~pie they replac,, ohesald y,sterd•y. Child-care wnrke,. eam IRr less than their cnuntr.rpRrt., In other industriPS and not even one-third of what sln,llarly qualilled people make In other fields. "Our nation hu lmpllcltly adopted a child-care policy which relies upon unseen subsidies pro• vlded by child-care teachers through !heir low salaries," said the study, en1111ed the National Chlld Care Staffing Study. This was particularly true In forprofit centres, both Independent and chain•. lhe authors said yesterdoy. Whlle non-profit centres spent •ll~htly more th•n fiO per cent or their budgets on Instruction, lorprollt cr.ntrPS ,et ""Ide 41 to 49 per cent lnrthal purl""'•• "The dlllerence In quallly Is significant and anrlbutable In part lo wag" nnd In turnover r■ tes:• s11kl study co- author Carollee Howes. a psyclmlngy professor at the Uni• Are moms quitting :: workforce? S URPRISING as the latest ~nemployment f_igures are. they may be Just the tip of an unexpected iceberll, In his April budget. Finance ~linister :'.lichael Wilson ac· knowledged lhat the jobless rate. which wa:i then i .8 per cent, was e,cpected to rise. Unemployme~t would climb to 8.2 per cent in the last three months of the vear. said the budget docu• inents, and be up to 8.5 per cent a year later. Private sector forecasters have been saying the same thing, manv of them projecting ever. higher jobless numbers. The Conference Board of Canada's recent survey of forecasts from 13 financial institu• tions and economic research firms shows all nl lhem predict· inll rising unemployment over the balance of this year and next Several of the forecasters predict that next year's rate will average close to 9 per cent But Statistics Canada reports that the jobless rate has actually heen falling lor the past several months. The newly-released September figures show it dropped from 7.~ per cent to a post-reces• sion low of 7.3 per cent last month. verslty of Callfornta. The avrrage chntn-owMCt. for- profit centre paid S4.I0 •n hour and had a start tunmver rate nf 74 per cent. Independent, prollt-maklng cent,.,. paid $4.76 •n hour and had a 51 rer cent lumover rate. Church••pntlSOrPd Cl'l11,... paid an averag~ of S5.0t an hour and h•d lo,t an avPra~e of 38 per cent of their stall In the past year and othPr non-profit centres paid SS.40 an hour and had a JO-per-cent turnover rate. Ct-nlfl?\11 carlnR for a 101111 of 18,- 000 chlldren and employing 3,000 peopli, were !';UrvPved frnm Feb- ruary to llugust of l!IM In the $5410,000 sru,ty. whfr.h was financed by severnt foundations. Fee• ranged Imm 13,200 lo S7,200 a year ror full-day care, and salaries averaged S.5.35 an hour. Confined In llcenced centres, the Mody cnnsisted of ln•dHs a5sess• men1s of leacher-chlld Inter• acllons, interviews with starr mP.mbers and assessments of Globe & Mail Oct.18/89 children. The 51udy also found that hlgh- JOBS.JOBS Are Mulroneyan economic policies confounding even Wilson's prophesies, and generating jobs. jobs, jobs? Not at all. StatsCan says the number of employed Canadians actually dropped in September by more than what end-of•summer seasonal factors alone can account for. lncomfl' and lo••lnr-ome families tendPd to re,r.tve the best quallly nf child core, with middle-Income lomille• l•RRIOR behind. Bake sale donations for minister Brenda Cryderman. lell, cochairman or lhe Nnrlhwcslern Ont:irio Women·s Occade Council and MarRarel Phillips, a spokesman for the Nnrlhweslern 11•gional Day Care Commillee, help MP lain Angus !Thunder Bay-Alikokan: NOP I, hold an overflowing armful of baked goods. The baked goods were presented lo AnRlL< by Cryderman. Phillips and a num- The reason why the unempioy· ment rate nonetheil'SS fell is that the participation rare - also :,easonally adjusted to take into account those who would nor· m.>Jly lea\·e the labor iorce in S.,ptember - dropped even more. The biggest surprise . is t1,,_. group which was responsible :or virtually all of that drop. Not thl' discouraged older male workers we hear so much about, but women under the age of 25. Fifteen years ago, when the babv boom generation was nooding into the labor market. economists were predicting a big drop in unemployment as soon as the last of the baby boomers reached working age. By the early '80s. said the Eco· nomic Council of Canada among others. our problem would be a shortage of labor. . It didn't work out that way, 01 c·ourse. The recession was parUy responsible. but the biggest rea· son was that the growth of the iabor supply didn't slow down significanUy when the baby boom entrants petered out :\!others re-entering the job market and younger ones not leaving it when they had ch!l· dren kept the number of avail• able workers growing strongly. as the female labor force partici• pation rate rose hy a full I per c·ent each year. DAYCARE Until this ,·ear. that is. ln the first nine months of 1989. it has grown at less than half that rate. Althoullh it was women under the age of 25 who were mainly responsible lor last month's fig• ures. over the full January to September period it is ,vomen over 25 who show the larger stall in labor force participation. Al this point it is premature to draw any firm conclusions. But it isn't too soon to start ask· in~ questions and checkin~ possible answers. Has the number of mothers who want jobs outside the home started to level off? Or has our patchwork child care situation been stretched to its limit. so additional mothers who want to return to paid employment and new mothers who want to continue in their johs are simply lindin~ it impossible? • ·.~ltho~~h· the number_ oi spaces in child..:are centres nas been growing rapidly in i:ec,,nt ,·ears. the number of children being cared for by relatives and in the homes of ne1~hborhooo women has been growing even faster. With fewer wnmen at home. the number available to take other people's children into their homes had to run out e\-entually. And that could be what is now happening. If so. the news of our fallin~ unemployment rate should be rinlling alarm bells rather than inviting applalLse. □ ~ S111frin '-- -~...; ber of other citi7.tms concerned about federal day care funding and legislation. Angus will present lhe baked goods lo Finance Minister Michael Wilson. The women said Wilson could hoM a bake sale lo fund more frderal day care iniliatives. Some of lhe cookies were slale and olhers were broken. "The slale conki,s are indicalive of lhe lenglh of lime Canadian families have wailed lor the federal government to lake action on lhe child care crisis," Pbillips told a group of supporlers galhtred at Angus's May Street olfice Friday. "The crumbled cookies are represenlative .of the broken promises of the Conr;ervative government.'' /Al 7 ,, / ·,;•· -~ ~..... ': 'i ~~ Chronic 1e Journa l June/89 t:r'- ·~ , is .., Ottawa wtlta on aoci■I pole �November 1989 Page 11 • MEMBERSHIP • At the 1988 Forum a membership structure for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee was approved. Memberships are now available. Membership categories are: Category A: Municipal Councils/Indian Band Council; Day Care Centres; Professional Organizations; Regional Associations; Labour Unions. Fee: $50.00 Category B: Parent Groups, Voluntary Community Organizations. Fee: $25.00 Category C: Individuals. Fee: $5.00 To Join, please complete this application form, detach and return to: N.W.O.R.D.C.C. P.O. Box 144 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V5 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION I believe in the purpose of The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee and I wish to become a member. Signature Name: ______________________________________ _ Address: ___________________________________ _ Postal Code: _______________________________ _ Phone Number: ___________ Fee Enclosed _______ _ A Category: I # I I I I I I I I I I# I I I I B I I I I I I I C I I I Thank you for your support. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I �Pae 12 November 1989 RECIPE FOR CHILDCARE SERVES: ALL CANADIANS INGREDIENTS: -TONS OF HIGH QUALITY -100¾ NON-PROFIT -SUBSIDIES FOR ALL WHO NEED THEM -GUARANTEED UNIVERSAL ACCESS -GUARANTEED SPACES -FLEXIBLE SPECIAL NEEDS 'SERVICES PREPARATION TIME: OVERDUE COOKING TIME: A.S.A.P. METHOD: MIX ALL INGREDIENTS THOROUGHLY IN A LARGE MULTICULTURAL SETTING, THROW IN ADEQUATE GOVERNMENT LEADERSHIP AND FUND UNTIL ALL CHILDREN ARE WELL CARED FOR. PLACE IN HIGH PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION. · � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, November 1989 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News November 1989. Includes information about Membership Committee; overview of Ontario child care policy initiatives and the Child Care Act and New Directions; Funding Advisory Committee for the Ministry of Community and Social Services disbanded; day care news for Thunder Bay, Marathon, Dryden, Fort Frances, Kenora, and Red Lake; Secretary of State Women's Programs grants decreased funding; Manitoba Child Care Associations walkout day; G.S.T. Goods and Services Tax; Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Forum; Pay Equity; membership. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1989-11 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_89nov Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada- Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Marathon Canada - Ontario - Dryden Canada - Ontario - Fort Frances Canada - Ontario - Kenora Canada - Ontario - Red Lake https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/1e787777c5b278de83426575215b5104.pdf 8f8af71feed583a4dbadeeeccc034d0e PDF Text Text "NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO DAY CARE NEWS May 1990 DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout the region, as well as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmental policy/legislation and advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans. we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send articles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4VS. ************************************************************** FORUM 1990 WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE? CONTENT PAGE Forum 1990 1 Forum Follow-up 2 Council Members 3 S for Northern Ont. 3 Regional Reports 4 Meetings with M.P.P. 's 5 Quiz 5 Provincial-Municipal Social Services Review 6 Trillium Funding 6 Ont. Coalition For Better Child Care Conference Report 7 Computers 8 Answers to Quiz 8 Budget Backgrounder 9 Keeping Childcare on the Political Agenda 10 . Membership 11 Forum 1990. sponsored by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Cammi t tee. with the financial support of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, convened in Thunder Bay March 2nd and 3rd, 1990. This Regional Day Care Forum brought together over 70 day care parents. workers, administrators and advocates from across Northwestern Ontario. At the request of the Municipal Centres a workshop on Friday afternoon focused on the impact of the new guidelines for calculating per diem rates; -identifying local and regional concerns resulting from this directive; -becoming aware of actions planned by local centres- �.. I- Page 2 May 1990 municipalities in respect to the concerns; and, -to consider appropriate regional action. Guests from the Ministry of Community and Social Services participated in this session. The impact of moving to enrollment based parent fees has a great effect on Northwestern Ontario; many are seasonal workers, or shift workers, as well there is a large labour pool that must move from community to community. especially in the construction trades. The other item of major concern is raising the cost to full-fee paying parents. This was a good opportunity for ministry representatives to dialogue with the child care community. One of the major items that came from the session is that there needs to be consistency of information and implementation at the area office level. It is hoped that more opportunities of this kind will occur in the future. The research document, Child Care Funding: An Equity Challenge was presented Saturday morning. This is the final result of what was known the Weighting Factor Project. The report recognized that the present funding system is flawed and calls for a review of the present funding mechanisms and the implementation of a child care system in Ontario that has political will behind it. Workshops were offered on Equity, Board Development, Professional Development. Pay and Throughout the child care community there is agreement that a crisis exists, that the child care system in Ontario is unsatisfactory and must be changed. The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care has prepared a major Discussion Paper supporting the move to the Ministry of Education, which would help alleviate this crisis. Participants at the conference examined this proposal as it relates to Northwestern Ontario. )FORUM FOLLOW-UP A number of issues were highlighted requiring immediate or long-term action by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee. The federal budget was of serious concern and telegrams were sent to Finance Minister Mr. Wilson and Ontario Treasurer Robert Nixon regarding the federal restrictions imposed on the Canada Assistance Plan. A telegram was sent to Prime Minister Mulroney protesting cuts to Women's Programs in the Secretary of State. Follow-up to the serious issue of pay equity for workers in establishments without male comparators was made through telegrams, letters and participating in the Coalition's meeting with the Minister of Labour. The C-PET project interested a number of delegates and ongoing consul tat ion to receive Northwestern Ontario input and encourage centres to use the final document will continue. The Forum initiated discussion on the issue of child care ■ r �Page 3 May 1990 jurisdiction-the education option and comprehensive dialogue on this subject needs to occur in the coming year. The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee will produce a discussion paper comparing the findings of Child Care Funding: An Equity Challenge and the Coalition's Eduction option discussion paper to assist the on-going regional discussion of this topic. The desire for on-going professional development is still a top priority for those in the field. A list of topics was generated and the informal network will continue to keep people informed. The newsletter will also write about note worthy professional development experiences. There is a strong desire to have much of this available in a more structured way. A good time was had by all at the networking evening on Friday night and at the dinner on Saturday Evening. Corinne Russell Eva Shields Rob Stinchcombe Maria Swain Betty Anne West Thunder Bay Atikokan Thunder Bay Grassy Narrows Fort Frances The Council meets two or three times a year to discuss items affecting the day care community in Northwestern Ontario. Along with the discussion there is often action taken by the Council: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $700.000 To Child Northern Ontario Care In $5000 for each non-profit child care centre in Northern Ontario has been allocated by the Honourable Charles Beer and the Honourable Rene Fontaine. In early February the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and the Ministry of Community and Social Services announ-::ed that Northern Ontario's 140 non-profit centres would receive $700.000 to help purchase furnishings and developmental equipment. 1990/91 Council Members The annual business meeting and Council elections of the NWORDCC were held in conjunction with the Regional Forum. Your 1990/91 Council members are: Anita Broere Thunder ·Bay Shelley Brown Thunder Bay Lynn Carlson Dryden Joanne Dawes Longlac Mary Ducharme Fort Frances Veronica Kreidl Marathon Teresa Legowski Thunder Bay Jacinta Manitowabi-Brisard Thunder Bay Mary Matys Terrace Bay Anita Price Thunder B·ay Holly Rupert Red Lake All we can say is that this is very nice. It will assist many centres. BUT. it is not what the child care community desperately needs. The children in Ontario deserve suf ficient funding in the first place. not a handout when the whim hits someone. A suggestion regarding political action on this issue. might be to respond to the Honourable Rene Fontaine. Minister of Northern Dev~lopment and Mines thanking his Ministry and pointing out that stable funding for child care �Page 4 May 1990 in Ontario would be better than another band-aid. A copy of the thank you letter should be sent to the Honourable Charles Beer, the Minister of Community and Social Services. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ REGIONAL REPORTS Dryden is fortunate. The town council is very supportive of child care. Plans are being developed for their new building. which will have 48 spaces and hopefully an integrated license. The Nursery School will also be moving into the new building. Future plans include a Private Home Day Care Program operating f ram the new building and will incorporate the schoolage program. It has been difficult to operate the schoolage spaces as the school-age children must be kept separate. A need for profession development has been identified. A few anxious moments were experienced by the child care community in Fort Frances this spring. With a little lobbying to the Municipal Councillors by parents in the day care and other community groups the crisis was solved and the tender has been let for the new building. Per diem rates have once again gone up. In response to this. a letter was sent to the Honourable Charles Beer regarding the new guidelines. and a reply was received stating that the transitional grant will not be removed. day care. which is operated by a non-profit parent Marathon board requested $8000 from the town council this year, but only received $4000. They will continue to lobby throughout the year to ensure that they will receive more next year. The Community Needs Assessment survey is complete. The expansion has received 100% funding and will have 69 spaces. Application has been made to increase the subsidized spots from 15 to 20 but an answer has not been received from MCSS. Congratulations to Kinderplace Child Care in Thunder Bay who held an open house recently. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers will enjoy the bright spacious rooms in this facility. The Advisory Committee to the Hunicipali ty of Thunder Bay day care is proposing guidelines regarding full fee paying parents. Rob Stinchcombe reported that Social Services seems not to be opposed to enrollment based day care. Councillor Dusty Miller, Chairperson of Community Services. The Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay. announced on March 22, 1990 that the Comprehensive Child Care Study had commenced. Funding for this project is a joint Provincial -Mu nic ipa 1 venture. The Goal of the Study is: to determine the role of the Municipality of Thunder Bay in delivering child care programs in Thunder Bay and surrounding areas, currently. and within the next ten year period. �., Page 5 May 1990 Jumbo Gardens operates a school age program for children from 812 which . is located in a separate room from the other children. This seems to be working extremely well. Immigrant women. several native groups and day care advocates from Hanitouwadge and Terrace Bay have contacted Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care regarding establishing day care services. It is with concern that we learn of the shift in philosophy regarding Confederation College's Children and Family Centre. The shift from a community-centred education service to a quasicommercial operation is deeply disturbing. The College has been considered a leader in the child care community, not only in Northwestern Ontario, but also provincially and nationally. The Centre's philosophy of child care, and the development of comprehensive services, is viewed as a model of excellence. The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee has written to Jack Stokes, Chairman of the Board of Governors urging the Board of Governors to reverse this decision and ensure that our community will continue to benefit from the leadership and excellence that, in the past, has been provided by the Children and Family Centre. MEETINGS WITH M.P.P. 'S During March and April Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care representatives met with M.P.P. 's Lyn McLeod, Taras Kozyra, and Frank Michlash. Issues discussed included pay equity, the capping of C.A.P., the new guidelines for municipal centres, and the document Child Care An Equity Challenge. Funding: QUIZ The average industrial wage for workers in Ontario in 1984 was $404.07. What was the average child care worker wage then? (a) $364.68 (b) $314.98 (c) $267.00 What were child care workers' salaries as a percentage of the average industrial wage? (a) 54% (b) 66% (C) 72% The average industrial wage for workers in Ontario in 1988 was $686.80. What was the average child care worker wage? (a) $549.00 (b) $324.00 (c) $444.00 What was child care workers' wages as a percentage of the 1988 average industrial wage? (a) 47% (b) 66% (c) 69% Have child care workers wages risen of fallen in relation to the average industrial wage since 1988? Risen __ Fallen __ By how much? (a) 19% (b) 4% (c) 22% PLEASE GIVE THIS QUIZ TO YOUR HPP, TO YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, TO YOUR NEIGHBOUR AND ANYONE YOU CAN THINK OF! �Page 6 May 1990 PROVINCIAL-MUNICIPAL SOCIAL SERVICES REVIEW The Provincial-Municipal Social Services Review (P.M.S.S.R.) has recently released its long-awaited report. The implementation of the recommendations of this report would have a significant impact on child care in Northwestern Ontario and it is urgent that we study the report and develop a response from the Northwestern Ontario child care perspective. The government has indicated that they will provide their response in six months. While a consultation process has been mentioned, no details have been provided. We need to be prepared. We ask you to: ( 1) Study the report immediately. (Borrow a copy of the report from your municipal office, or ask your M.P.P. to obtain a copy for you. ) (2) Send us your reactions to the report (positive or negative) as soon as possible. (3) Please advise us if your Day Care Centre/Board and /or Parent's Group plans to develop a written response to the report. (4) Keep us informed about the reaction of your Municipal Council to the report (reaction to entire report, not just day care section). (5) Encourage awareness and discussion of the implications of the report. While we (Council, staff) have not yet fully analyzed this report, we suspect that certain Northern realities may not have received adequate consideration. Again we will need to make our Northwestern Ontario voice heard. Your input quickly. is very important and THE DOCUMENT CHILD CARE FUNDING:AN EQUITY CHALLENGE IS AVAILABLE FOR $15 FROM THE NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGIONAL DAY CARE OFFICE. THIS DOCUMENT DISCUSSES THE HIGH COST OF THE DELIVERY OF CHILD CARE IN NORTHERN ONTARIO. CALL US AT 3458803 TO ORDER YOUR COPY. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND PHONE NUMBER SO THAT WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU. Trillium Funding: The Ontario Coalition For Better Child Care is applying for we encourage you to respond Trillium Funding. Organizations may apply along with them. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please contact our office at 807-345-88@3 and speak to Lee Angus about this. All submissions must be in prior to June 5, so time is short. Please leave a message on the machine, if there is no answer. �Page 7 May 1990 THE ONTARIO COALITION FOR BETTER CHILD CARE--CONFERENCE REPORT By Anita Price The Coalition Conference was held April 28th and 29th in Guelph, usually just a 45 minute drive from the Toronto International Airport. Barbara Elliott and I went to the conference to do a workshop and to participate in the many interesting activities. We We took a "Red Car" from left the Airport shortly after 6:00. there to go to Guelph. The weather in the Toronto area was unseasonably hot! The 401 in a spot buckled due to the extremes in weather conditions. We spent approximately 3 hours in bumper to bumper traffic most of the journey to Guelph. Once we got to the University Campus, we found our way to the residence and to our room. The weather was just beautiful. We went for a stroll around the campus without a jacket. The nest morning we went for breakfast in the cafeteria before the Council Meeting. At the meeting, many i terns were discussed. The biggest discussion was a result of the educationaloption discussion paper and future action. The Trillium funding and the new membership category was discussed. The Coalition is looking at offering more services to "network" members. therefore they would pay a higher registration fee to access these services. The Council Meeting was quite a long meeting 9 a.m. - 2 p.m., with many members observing. Once the Council Meeting was over, we went over to meet the Minister of Community and Social Services, Charles Beer. He talked about what has happened in child care and what the restrictions are for the Provincial Government due to the cap on C. A. P. We were anticipating that something good in child care would be announced by the Minister at our Conference, but that was not the case. After the session with the Minister, there were a variety of workshops for people to attend. Barbara Elliott and I presented a workshop on Multi-aged groupings, a concept we are promoting and modelling in our new Centre. Once the workshops were over, we had a bit of time to chat with others from across the province as well as people from British columbia and New Brunswick. The next day was as busy and exciting as the first. it started off for me with an Executive Meeting. Then the whole group participated in a session called "The Bear Pit". Margaret Phillips was a panellist from Northwestern Ontario. People spoke of their frustration around day care issues. Workshops were attended after the Bear Pit session. Marion Dewar was the Key Note Speaker at the Luncheon and I had the pleasure of introducing her. she gave a fiery speech about caring for all aspects of children's lives, not only day care issues. She is a very passionate woman with a positive vision. �Page 8 May 1990 After lunch there were more workshops then a wrap up session. The conference was very thought provoking and helped me to see how far we have come and where we have to go. care !@@#$%"&&*( ) > < - : " ? / . , ; I [ ] = COMPUTERS! COMPUTERS! child software for programs in Ontario. Yes, we now have a computer. The Ministry of Community and Social Services funded our Communications Enhancement Project with a grant of $11,700. The 1987 Report on Northwestern Ontario Day Care Workers, indicated the need for a variety of professional development opportunities, one of which was computer training. The Day Care "Network" has vastly expanded since 1985 and our mailing list now exceeds 200 regional people. ( If you move, please let us know so that we can continue to keep you informed with the newsletter.) As you can imagine the computer will greatly assist us in preparing the newsletter and briefs for hearings on child care legislation etc. Many child care centres have branched out on their own with computer systems, whether it be for financial administration, or for the children's use. The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee will be surveying all day care centres to determine what systems are in use in the region. This survey will be mailed out to each centre in June. The data from this survey will be used for two purposes. 1) To plan a conference that will allow a unique opportunity for the many volunteers and staff involved with child care to liaise and network with professionals in the communications field. 2) To assist the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care in developing appropriate, lowcost comprehensive computer The growth in this area has been so rapid that many individuals have not had the opportunity of time to explore this field. With the major suppliers located in Thunder Bay it is also difficult for regional centres to access information with out incurring great expenses. A workshop designed around the modern communications field will increase the networking between the communications experts and between centres that are using similar equipment. ANSWERS TO QUIZ (from page 5) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. c) $267.00 b) 66% b) $324.00 a) 47% fallen a) 19% Thank you to the Ontario Coalition For Better Child Care for this Quiz. �• Page 9 May 1990 BUDGET BACKGROUNDER By The Ontario Coalition For Better Child Care The Treasurer of Ontario has announced a new budget for child care. The Treasurer announced a 16% increase in child-care spending for this budget year to $386 million. On Thursday, April 26, Minister of Community and Social Services, Charles Beer, made an announcement in the House as a follow-up to the Treasurer's announcement, specifying that: $10 million would be available to assist municipalities $10 million would be available for new community -based and new school non-profit child care programs No announcements were made concerning enhanced salary grants or direct operating grants for child care staff. Our preliminary analysis of the budget indicates: That the budget is really only for $384 million because $12 1. million for Ministry of Education capital has been included in child care spending of 10. 6% over last year's estimated expenditures of $347 million. 2. That new subsidized spaces will be limited to programs which have received MCSS capital and start-up funding in the last year. This means that municipalities wishing to serve parents on their waiting lists in existing programs will have to find the funds out of the additional monies supposedly set aside to assist municipalities "facing extreme pressures" which prevent them from purchasing spaces in the community. 3. That no additional funds are available to enhance the direct operating grant program (over and above an annual inflation rate) and assist with the raising of wages. This is particularly appalling in view of the following facts: Average child care worker wage, 1989 $16,852.00 Child care wages as% of average "47% industrial wage Compared to% of av. ind. wage, 1984 -19% Visiting homemakers and workers in other community-based agencies have received 1990-91 budget al locations to assist in raising wages. 4. In order to maintain its commitment to New Directions, the Government had to increase the budget by at least 30% per year. This meagre 10. 6% increase can only mean that the provincial government has abandoned its commitment to make child care in Ontario a public service. Note: At the Coalition's Annual Conference the Honourable Charles made it quite clear that the Government was abandoning New Directions. �I Page 10 May 1990 KEEPING CHILD CARE ON THE POLITICAL AGENDA It is up to individuals involved with child care to ensure that it remains on the political agenda. Meetings with politicians to discuss your issue are very important. Meet in their off ice or better yet invite them to your centre. they are always looking for a photo opportunity for their householder. which is distributed to the riding three or four times per year. The following news clippings may interest you. Day-care workers demand more pay By John Deverell TORONTO STAR Some of Ontario's 18,000 daycare teachers are showing signs of· rebelling against $9-an-hour wages. Twenty of them, with two dozen kids in tow, took over the labor minister's boardroom yesterday to dramatize their demand for higher pay. They want Labor Minister Gerry Phillips to include them in. the Pay Equity Act. The day-care teachers, nearly all women, wantto be compared with, say, male technicians at the agnculture ministry who get $15 an hour for sorting seeds and tending plants. Phillips' executive assistant hear1 the complaint ana promised a meeting with the minister on Monday. Day-care workers' low wages can't be raised by fee increases to parents "who are having trouble coping already," said Laurel Rothman, a vice-president of the Coalition for Better Child Care. Phillips told reporters later the. problem can't be addressed . through the Pay Equity Act in its present form. The province currently contributes about $2,750 in direct grants toward the average full .. time day-care salary of $16,850 a year. For 1990 the payments will total $60 million, an average of $460 for each of the 130,000 children in licensed day care. �• Page 11 May 1990 MEMBERSHIP At the 1988 Forum a membership structure for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee was approved. Memberships are now available. Membership categories are: Category A: Municipal Councils/Indian Band Council; Day Care Centres; Professional Organizations; Regional Associations; Labour Unions. Fee: $50.00 Category B: Parent Groups, Voluntary Community Organizations. Fee: $25.00 Category C: Individuals. Fee: $5.00 To join, please complete this application form, detach and return to: N.W.O.R.D.C.C. P.O. Box 144 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V5 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION I believe in the purpose of The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee and I wish to become a member. Signature Name: _______________________ Address: _____________________ Postal Code: ___________________ Phone Number: _ _ _ _ _----'Fee Enclosed _ _ _ __ Category: A_ _ B_ __ c ___ ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thank you for your support. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, May 1990 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News May 1990. Includes information about Regional Forum 1990; 1990/91 Council Members; Child Care funding to Northern Ontario from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines and the Ministry of Community and Social Services; day care news for Dryden, Fort Frances, Marathon, Thunder Bay, Manitouwadge, and Terrace Bay; meetings with M.P.P.s Lyn McLeod, Taras Kozyra, and Frank Michlash; Provincial-Municipal Social Services review and paper Child Care Funding: An Equity Challenge; updates from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; computer funding for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee; Provincial Budget Child Care Backgrounder. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_90may Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Dryden Canada - Ontario - Fort Frances Canada - Ontario - Marathon Canada - Ontario - Manitouwadge Canada - Ontario - Terrace Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/e23aa4709690189236fdca102a64f06d.pdf 90de9e75df8545da77b55495edb8c5d8 PDF Text Text NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO DAY CARE NEWS October 1990 DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout the region, as well as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmental policy/legislation and advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans, we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send articles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4VS. ****************************************************************** WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE? CONTENT PAGE A New Government Leads Child Care Into The 90,s 1 Zanana Akande, New Minister of Community and Social Services 2 Staff Shortages in North Western Ontario 3 Three Cabinet Ministers From Northwestern Ontario 4 Dryden Day Care News 5 Quality Child Care Provides Enriched Learning Environment 5 Fall Forum and Lobby of M.P.P. 's, Nov. 7 & 8 7 Upcoming Events 8 1991 Membership 9 A NEW GOVERNMENT LEADS CHILD CARE INTO THE 90'S On September 6 the people of Ontario made history by electing a New Democratic Party Government. This historic moment means new challenges for the Child Care Community. For the first time the elected government has a party policy that reflects what child care advocates have been saying. Advocates have long said that Children in Ontario deserve a child care system that ensures they have access to universally-accessible and comprehensive child care where there are no barriers due to cost, age, hours, geography, culture, language, disability or other special needs. �• The compatibility of the NDP's policy statements and what advocates have been saying means that we may see a light at the end of the tunnel.it gives us a great deal of optimism. This does not mean that we can stop lobbying or informing people about child care. What it means is that child care advocates must be even clearer in what they want. There is a government in Ontario that will now listen. They believe in a comprehensive child care system and campaigned on that issue in the 1987 campaign. They will want to implement a comprehensive system, not just band-aids. Members of the child care community must present to the government exactly what they want. Do we want child care in the school system? Do we want a Ministry of the Young Child? How do we want child care funded? Presently the child care system is under the Ministry of Community and Social Services, do we want it to remain there? These are just a few questions that we must come to consensus on. Your first opportunity to have input into the new government will be on November 7 and 8 in Toronto. The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care is holding their Fall Forum and Lobby with the M.P.P. 's at this time. ( see Fall Forum and Lobby later in this newsletter) The 'U-TURN' proposal will be presented to the Forum for participants input. This document will also be available at N.W.O.R.D.C.C. office by October 2 5. 1990. If you would like a copy please call 807-3458803. ( please leave your name and address on the machine) ZANANA AKANDE, NEW MINISTER OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL $ERVICES The new Minister of Community and Social Services has been described as an educator, a community activist, an outspoken advocate for children, women, the poor, and the homeless and a democratic socialist. Years of activism to effect social justice for all prepare her for her new role. The Minister is well-known and respected throughout Ontario as a gifted speaker. workshop leader and presenter at educational conferences, programs. meetings of professional womens' groups and community organizations. She has also taught at the University of Toronto, York University and prior to being elected was Principal, the George Syme a Community School in the City of York ( Toronto Area) . Her many community activities have included serving on the Ministry of Community and Social Services Advisory Committee on Childrens' Services. She now represents the riding of St. Andrew-St. Patrick. Please welcome the Minister to her new responsibilities and remind her that child care deserves special attention by writing to her: The Honourable Zanana Akande Minister of Community and Social Services Hepburn Block Queen's Park Toronto, Ontario M7A TE9 �October Page 3 STAFF SHORTAGES IN NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO One of the major difficulties in the remote regions of the province is obtaining qualified staff and keeping them. This problem has recently become acute in the Northwest. From 1986 to the present the turnover in Supervisors in the region has been 50% in Native Child Care Centres and 72% in the small regional communities. Several have turned over two or three times during this time period. Child care centres located outside the Thunder Bay area find it difficult to attract ECE graduates for teach positions. Some reasons for the shortages of qualified staff are: 1) The threat of closure (1983-1986) took it's toll and some workers sought other jobs or went back to university; 2) The uncertainty of the future of day care in their community may have discouraged students from taking ECE; 3) Some workers who graduated in the late 70's and early 80's are now raising children of their own and staying home for a few years; 4) Low wages; 5) A greater degree of professional self esteem is available in other fields; and 6) High worker mobility in Northwestern Ontario, therefore leaving community because of spouse's employment. Recently the Native Communities in Northwestern Ontario expressed interest in the concept of Confederation College delivering an Early Childhood Education Program directly to their reserves. As a result of these inquiries, the college held a series of Native Early Childhood Education Conferences to gain the Native Community's perspective on the provision of E. C. E. training. Conferences were held in Sioux Lookout, Kenora, and Thunder Bay. These Conferences produced a great deal of information on: -how much interest communities have for E.C.E. training on reserves, -which communities may be interested, -program models on how to deliver training, -issues related to the delivery of training on reserves, -recommendations on how the college should proceed in a number of areas related to delivery, curriculum, support for learners, and other areas as identified by participants. As a result of these conferences and the recommendations in the report of the conferences, the expectations and enthusiasm for an on-site pilot project has been created. Seven Native communities expressed and interest in becoming possible pilot project sites for September of 1990. Unfortunately, no funding was made available this September. Is this another case of receiving input from the community and then shelving the information? Seven Native Communities would like the answer to this question. �October Page 4 Many child care advocates feel that one of the solutions to the staffing shortage should be that Early Childhood Educators in Ontario should receive a Pay Equity Grant directly from the Government of Ontario. This could be done through Proxy Comparisons with municipal governments for a Regional Wage Adjustment, of through Proxy Comparisons with the Provincial Government for an Average Wage Adjustment. A recent study showed that higher paid ECE provided higher quality care ie) wages have a direct correlation with quality care services, Therefore Pay Equity Grants would serve to consolidate the existing Child Care System. Existing Child Care Programs would be strengthened. High turnover rates would stabilize--an average ECE only stays in the field for three years. A higher wage will keep qualified staff in the field longer. Stable staffing is another indicator of Quality Child Care. Higher wages would attract those ECE who have left the field, back into the field, thereby alleviating trained staff shortages. Pay Equity could be a solution. The growth of child care in the Northwe·st is in a precarious state. Service delivery to many communities has been non-existent. Of the 171 communi~ies in Northwestern Ontario, only 20 provide child care services, with 6 additional communities having nursery school opportunities for children. The child care community in Northwestern Ontario must communicate our concerns regarding the availability and the staffing of child care centres in Northwestern Ontario to our M.P.P.s. Now is the time to meet with the M.P.P.s, to ensure that they understand and remember the special circumstances of child care in Northwestern Ontario. THREE CABINET MINISTERS FROM NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO As of September 6, we welcome and congratulate the new M.P.P. from Port Arthur Riding, The Honourable · Shelley Wark-Martyn, who is the new Minister of Revenue. Congratulations also to those returning to office: Lyn McLeod, M.P.P. for Fort William Riding, Frank Miklash, M.P~P. for Kenora Riding, Gilles Pouliot, M.P.P. for Lake Nipigon and the new Minister of Mines, with responsibility for Francophone Affairs, and Howard Hampton, M.P.P. for Rainy River and the new Attorney General. As you will note Northwestern Ontario has a very strong voice in the Cabinet. It is important that we keep in touch with our M.P.P. 's. The three Cabinet Ministers will have extremely �October Page 5 heavy agendas. While they may be more favourable to a comprehensive child care program, they will also be busy with other things. It is up to us to ensure that child care is not forgotten. Some things that you can do are to write and congratulate all the members. This can be done creatively with the children helping or with a letter from your day care. You should also remember to invite them to visit your centre. DRYDEN DAY CARE NEWS: by Lynn Carlson Karen Sourtzis, Day Care Supervisor has returned from a one years leave of absence. Karen has since married Spuro Sourtzis on October 6, 1990, in Thunder Bay. Congratulations Karen! A contract was signed between architect (Osburn, Cotnam and Belair) and Horst Lang Construction Ltd., clearing the way for the work to begin on a new Resource Building in Dryden. The new Centre will include a Day Care Centre for 48 preschoolers, an integrated Nursery School Program that serves approximately 60 children and a Toy Library/Resource Centre. Expected completion date is June 1991. Future plans are to integrate the Day Care Program and to offer a Home Day Care Service to meet the needs of infants and school age children. Currently the Centre's enrolment capacity is 45. To improve the quality of the program and to ensure that the needs of the individual child and his/her family are met, the schedule has been divided into two separate programs. This makes for a much calmer day as for any large group activity such as lunch, outdoor play etc. is not 24 children. Three full time Early Childhood Educators work with each group. QUAL.ITY CH.ILD CA.RE LEA.RN.ING .ENV.IRO.NZ<-1'ENT PROV.ID.ES .ENR.ICH.ED By Teresa Legowski Although I had some trepidations, my daughter was eager to begin Junior Kindergarten. She had been par ti cipa ting in a child care program on a part time basis, which had a Waldorf philosophical slant. Of course, to me, this is a quality program: child and play centred, emphasizing the seasonal nature of the world and full of lyrical stories, "natural" toys and an importance placed on crafts. The staff child ratios is one to five. Before I decided on a junior kindergarten program I asked a teacher friend of mine if she could recommend a particular JK teacher and she did. It turned out that the school where this teacher worked was in the area where my daughter would go to school, so I considered this lucky. Entering the junior kindergarten program showed a world of difference when I compared �October Page 6 it to my daughter's child care experience: activity centres designed to handle tiventy children so that one teacher could manage, each centre play oriented but designed to limit the number of children participating at each, programming geared to the lowest common denominator, requests for parent volunteers to help, much less individual attention, more cut and paste and less craft type activities. Welcome to the elementary school system! I have had the opportunity to speak with my daughter's teacher on several occasions now and I admire her experience and rapport with the children and their parents. She is an excellent teacher. But she readily admits that although play is the best way by which children learn, that JK and SK are the only programs in the elementary system in which it is offered, all be it in a very structured environment. She admits that to organize a play centred learning environment for children takes a lot of time and commitment from a teacher. Such a task is a heavy responsibility for just one teacher. So, for me it comes down to two things: Quality education is based on the teacher/child ratio and a play centred learning environment. Both these are favourable in child care centres. Child care centres offer quality education for children in an enriched environment. So my daughter goes half days to JK and three half days a week to child care because I do not want her to lose that enriched learning experience. Just as an example, my daughter took a piece of scrap material, some thread and a needle (which I helped her thread) and sewed a very simple skirt for herself. She is four years old and learned how to do this at her child care centre. I feel sad when I see that other children have not had this opportunity, simply because these quality child care programs are not universally accessible. I feel frustrated that my daughter attends a quality program for a half day and a mediocre program for the other half. As a parent, I want to see quality child care programming across the board for all children. I want to see one government Ministry responsible for all children so that this double standard can be eliminated and that all children will have the same opportunities. I firmly believe that the standards for child care by far excel the standards for the same aged children in the elementary school system, and that these are the standards that should be implemented and enforced (over-ruling local Boards of Education), if child care does eventually become an extension of the school system. �• October Page 7 FALL FORUM AND LOBBY OF M.P.P.S, NOVEMBER 7 AND 8 IN TORONTO Individuals attending this Forum and Lobby will have the opportunity to have input and hear what others have to say about the 'U-Turn' proposal that is being recommended by the executive of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. This proposal would turn the funding for child care on its head. Rather than it being a user-fee system, propped up with Government subsidies of various forms, as it is now, it would become primarily a Government-funded service and the recovery of costs would be separately administered. This is an exciting concept and needs vast circulation and discussion in the next few weeks. The resulting paper will be presented to the new Government as the direction that we, in the child care movement, would like to see the new Government take. The U-Turn paper is the major focus of the Forum but, workshops on the following topic areas will also be offered. 1) The Child Care Network as a Lobby Group 2) The Computerization Project 3) Child Care Review: The CCR: A new method for child care program evaluation 4) Child Care Overdue: Billing the province for funding long overdue. How does it work? How can your child care program participate? 5) Child Care Staffing Caucus: A strategy session for child care staff. 6) Activities and Projects of the New Network. What's in it for you? How to use the new services to help your program: accounting; insurance; manuals _;; training programs and more. 7) The Annual Child Care Cycle: An Overview for Boards of Directors and Child Care Administrators. 8) Pay Equity of the Art of Achieving the Impossible: A Balance Sheet for child care staff. 9) The future of Child Care Under The New Democrats. On November the 8th a Lobby of M.P.P.s will take place at Queen's Park. For those of you who have not taken part in a lobby, this is an opportunity to meet other child care advocates from across the province and with 2 or 3 others meet with an M.P.P. or Cabinet Minister. This is a great learning experience. If you would like to attend the Forum and Lobby or want a copy of the 'U-Turn' proposal. please call the N. W. O. R. D. c. c. office (807-475-5243). There are some subsidies available for the Lobby and Forum in Toronto. �• October Page 8 U.PCO~ING EVENTS If you have an upcoming event please let us know. We will try to let you know about conferences etc. in advance. It is a good idea, to keep this information so that at budget time your centre will know the type of things that are offered throughout the year and can budget appropriately. We try to negotiate travel subsidies in our budgets, so the cost to your organization is not as great. Please let us know about upcoming events. 1990 November 7 and 8--Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Annual Fall Forum and Lobby Tqronto 1991 January 18. School age Workshop, "Meeting Their Needs" 9a. m. to 3:30 p.m. Airlane Hotel, Thunder Bay Sponsored by the Association for Early Childhood Education Cost $50 Contact Debbie Dubeau 344-2465. January 19, Next meeting N.W.O.R.D.C.C. Council in Thunder Bay March 1 & • 2 tentative date for our Spring Forum March 22, Infant Care Workshop 9a.m. to 3:30p.m. Airlane Hotel, Thunder Bay. Sponsored by the Association for Early Childhood Education Cost $50 Contact Debbie Dubeau 344-2465. April or May, Spring Conference-Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care September 25, 26, 27. -Thunder Bay--The conference hotel will be the Valhalla Inn. Al though the conference is Private home Day Care. plans are to ensure workshops and sessions for all persons involved in child care are available. For example: administration. native and francophone, centre base re: infants. toddlers. pre-school age will be some of the key areas addressed. If you have any suggestion or ideas, pleas fonvard them to Sandra Livingston. Children's Services CoOrdinator 86 S. Cumberland St., Thunder Bay, Ont., P7B 6G7, telephone 625-2183. October Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care-Fall Forum and Lobby �' October Page 9 1991 MEMBERSHIP At the 1988 Forum a membership structure for the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee was approved. Memberships are now available. Membership categories are: Category A: Municipal Councils/Indian Band Council; Day Care Centres; Professional Organizations; Regional Associations; Labour Unions. Fee: $50.00 Category B: Parent Groups, Voluntary Community Organizations. Fee: $25.00 Category C: Individuals. Fee: $5.00 To join, please complete this application form, detach and return to: N.W.O.R.O.C.C. P.O. Box 144 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V5 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I / I I 1991 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION I believe in the purpose of The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee and I wish to become a member. Signature Name: _______________________ Address: _____________________ Postal Code: ___________________ Phone Number: Category: - - - - - -Fee A_ _ B_ __ Enclosed ----- C --- ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thank you for your support. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, October 1990 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News October 1990. Includes information about the elected New Democratic Party Government and Zanana Akande Minister of Community and Social Services; focus on child care for Northwestern Ontario including child care staff, ECE graduates, Native Early Childhood Education, and child care centres; elected MPPs Lyn McLeod, Frank Miklash, Gilles Pouliot, and Howard Hampton; day care news for Dryden; Quality Child Care Provides Enriched Learning Environment by Teresa Legowski; Fall Forum and Lobby of MPPs in Toronto with Ontario Colalition for Better Child Care and the U-Turn Proposal. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1990-10 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_90oct Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Dryden https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/10ee6ed418046b6975e00ffdf46abfeb.pdf 442cb47177ce2f681ed108ab865257f3 PDF Text Text NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO DAY CARE NEws · May 1991 DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout the region, as well as providing information about what is happening on the federal, provincial, regional and local scenes, in terms of policy, legislation, advocacy groups' activities, parental concerns and other interests that our supporters may have. We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans, we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in Northwestern Ontario. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout our region. Please send articles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7C 4V5. ------------------------------------------------------------------WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE? Minimal Growth of Subsidized Spaces in Northwestern Ontario Private Home Day Care Conference 6th Annual Forum A Great Success New Elementary Schools= New Child Care Centres Professional Development Sessions A Priority New NWORDCC Council Members Provincial Budget- A Day Care Overview Welcome to New Faces in New Positions Coalition Launches Child Care Network Day Care: Making a profit on baby? *Please note the NWORDCC membership drive letter included in this newsletter. Please pass it on if you are already a member. �, Minimal Growth of Subsidized Spaces Northwestern Ontarfo by Lynn Carlson Supervis~ng Early Childhood Educator Dryden Day Care Centre - On January 31, 1991, Zanana Akande announced that 5,000 of the 10,000 additional subsidized spaces recommended by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care had been created. Unfortunately the north will be receiving only 176 of the 5,000 spaces. The north begins at Muskoka which is only two hours away from Toronto. There were already 1,000 children on waiting lists in Northwestern Ontario alone, as of January 1, 1991. If approximately 75% of these children qualify for subsidy, how far will 176 additional spaces go when these must be shared with Northeastern Ontario? It has been determined that 51 of these new subsidies will be given to the Northwest. There seems to be a real inconsistency in the way that subsidies are distributed. For example, Fort Frances is licensed for 48 children and is approved for 33 subsidized spaces. Sioux Lookout has a license capacity of 48 and has 28 approved subsidized spaces available. In Atikokan, only 8 subsidized spaces are available through the municipality for 39 children. But, in Dryden, we presently have ministry approval to subsidize 45 children (our full enrolment), if their families are determined through needs testing to be eligible. (All of our parents are encouraged to take this needs test with no stigma attached.) Approval has already been given for three additional subsidy spaces when our license increases to accommodate 48 children in our new building. Our town treasurer and the support our child care centre receives from our town council and administrative staff can be given the credit for the success Dryden has had in obtaining subsidized spaces. We have applied for additional spaces in stages as our families' needs have changed. We are now servicing more single parent families than ever before. We ensure that the requests are accompanied by documentation that demonstrates the need t ·or more spaces ( using such information as waiting list figures). Our program supervisor has been very cooperative and supportive of our program needs. We have returned that cooperation by giving up some subsidized spaces when the ministry requests or during periods of low enrolment. We reapply when enrolment increases. When problems have arisen between the town administration and the Ministry office, the town has not hesitated to arrange meetings with higher levels of government. It is a shame that our situation is not consistent within other communities. �It seems that the problem of obtaining adequate numbers of subsidy spaces may be at the municipal level rather than the provincial. Should the distribution of subsidized spaces be determined by the abilities and willingness of municipal leaders and municipal administration to negotiate with government officials? Since some communities are not as prosperous as others, complete provincial funding of subsidized spaces could even out some of the discrepancies. Child care spaces should be universally available and families in need should have the opportunity to have child care costs subsidized. The 51 additional spaces allocated for all of Northwestern Ontario cannot do much to change the present situation. Editor's Note: The way the provincial government subsidized spaces was as follows: distributed the 5,000 Toronto: 4,000 spaces 500 spaces Ottawa : 500 spaces according to population Rest of Ontario: PRIVATE HOME DAY CARE CONFERENCE Sandra Livingston, the Children's Services Coordinator with the City's Social Services Department is looking for volunteers to work on the following committees: Workshop host/hostess Entertainment (Thursday evening) Commercial exhibits Workshop set up - posters/signs News media Evaluation form Silent auction - fund raising Wine & cheese evening Speaker/workshop leaders (honorarium) Audio-visual (workshop requests) Promotional items (available for purchase) Transportation (airport/hotel) Program brochure Conference kits Pre-registration on site registration, desk accomodation Meals, coffee breaks Hospitality suite If you wish to participate as a volunteer contact Sandra Livingston, 86 S. Cumberland St., Thunder Bay, ONT P7B 6G7 The City of Thunder Bay will be hosting the 1991 Private Home Day Care Conference this SEPTEMBER 25th, 26th, 27th at the Valhalla Inn. The NWORDCC is looking for a delegate to send to this conference. If you operate a private home day care program and you wish to attend please let Margaret or Barbara know. �(> 6TH ANNUAL FORUM A SUCCESS GREAT The sixth Annual NW Ontario Regional Day Care Forum convened in Thunder Bay on March 22/23, 1991. The forum brought together 78 child care advocates (parents, workers, administrators, ECE students) from 12 communities to assess current day care issues and develop strategies to continue advocacy for a comprehensive, high quality, non-profit child care system. The opening key note speaker Friday evening was Laurel Rothman, past president of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care ( OCBCC). She provided an overview of child . care issues from a national and provincial perspective, as well as information about current activities of the Coalition in its attempts to influence child care policy. On Saturday morning. a regional panel composed of Oni Kredl (Marathon). Rob Stinchcombe ( Kaministiquia). Lynn Carlson (Dryden}, Janet McCauley ( Atikokan) and Anita Price ( Thunder Bay) identified key concerns experienced in NW Ontario. These included: staff wages, fund raising problems faced by non profit Boards, accessibility, municipal discretion, inadequacy of guidelines for capital projects, insufficiency of capital funding, lack of standardization, inadequacy of subsidized spaces and northern funding inequities. On Saturday afternoon. Hargaret Phillips addressed the torum about the worsening situation in child care. She focused on our failure to obtain provincial policies sensitive to NW Ontario needs, the lack. of administrative support for child care, and the cutbacks in training opportunities tor northern communities th a t impact most negatively on the small, regional municipalities and Native communities. She stressed that child care advocates must continue their activism to resolve these problems. Pay equity and the Coalition's U-Turn document were examined during two workshops Saturday morning. The forum formally endorsed in principle the working document, "Child Care in Ontario: Making the Shift to the 1990's", and recommended the Coalition continue to encourage the Ontario government to implement the features of this program as quickly as possible. The annual business meeting was conducted during the noon hour, at which time the 1991/92 representatives to the NWORDCC Council were chosen. �NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS= NEW CHILD CARE CENTRES by Bobbi Tamblyn .. In the last newsletter, I told you about the new Roman Catholic school in County Park in Thunder Bay which will have a child care facility included. Since then, I have taken on two new projects the Lakehead Board and the Nipigon-Red Rock Board of Education. The Lakehead Board is building in Slate River. The Slate/Blake project is the first rural project in Thunder Bay. The Nipigon-Red Rock Board is building in Dorion. Both are targeted for a September 1992 opening. Slate/Blake has already broken ground; County Park is at the sketch plan stage; Dorion is in the initial drawing stage. All of these projects are very exciting and each has its own unique qualities. The groups from all the Boards of Education are very progressive and enthusiastic. We are presently in need of a Board of Directors for each of the projects. Please call me, Bobbi, the Child Care Consultant, at (807) 625-1545 for further discussion and clarifications on any of these exciting new projects. I welcome any comments and suggestions. Have a great summer! PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS BOARDS AND STAFF A PRIORITY FOR by Dianne Loucks Child Care Community Development Consultant By this time all programs in the District of Thunder Bay will have received a copy of up coming sessions for May and June, 1991. These sessions will be a primary focus for the 1991/92 year. Some of the activities planned include: professional development sessions; developing AECEO membership in the reg ion; development of program listings for the district; individual sessions with programs and boards; assisting new groups with needs assessments and proposals; producing a guideline paper for MCSS and the Minstry of Education. I look forward to working with individuals and groups to raise the image of child care in our communities. By focusing on our similarities and the quality care of children, we will continue to build on a solid foundation. �,. Board and Staff Professional Development Sessions OPEN TO ALL subsidized). AREA CHILD CARE PROGRAMS (Sorry, travel is not Sessions will be held if there is sufficient registration. Please confirm your attendance by phone 622-0201. Should numbers not be sufficient. the session will not be held. Please check prior to the date. FUND PROPOSAL INVOLVING THE RAISING, · DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS MANAGING CONFLICT AND 1. May 23, 1991 Manitouwadge, Township Office, 7-9pm. 1. June 18, 1991 Geraldton, Geraldton Day Care Centre, 7-9 p.m. 2. May 30, 1991 Thunder Bay, Brodie Resource Library, 7-9pm. 2. June 24, 1991 Thunder Bay, Waverley Resource Library, 7-9 p.m. NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGIONAL DAY CARE COMMITTEE COUNCIL MEMBERS 1991/92 Kenora Constituency Port Arthur Constituency Lynn Carlson- Dryden Lulubelle Kabestra- Whitefish Bay Lucille Kelly- Nestor Falls Julie Gauthier- Balmertown Anita Price- Thunder Bay Sandra Snider- Thunder Bay Rob Stinchcombe- Kaministiquia Rainy River Constituency Fort William ConstituenGy Mary Ducharme- Fort Frances Joanne Tremblay- Atikokan Betty Anne West- Fort Frances Fran Dalrymple- Thunder Bay Lorrie LaDelle- Thunder Bay Myrna Sawchuk- Thunder Bay Lake Nipigon Constituency Veronica Kreidl- Marathon Nancy Proteau- Geraldton �PROVINCIAL BUDGET- A DAY CARE OVERVIEW Along with other activists the NWORDCC anxiously awaited the provincial budget that was announced April 29th. We view the budget with mixed reactions. We support the thrust of the budget policies developed. We ara pleased with the initiatives that will impact positively in Northwestern Ontario such as support to Native communities, improved health transportation funding, and the initiatives that will support organizations working to end violence against women. However we are concerned by the absence from the budget of a demonstrated commitment to restructure child care in Ontario. We have written to Treasurer Floyd Laughren to express our concern and to urge the Ontario government to immediaiely begin the process to fundamentally restructure child care to ensure the development of the comprehensive, high-quality, non-profit child care system we need. We recognize the constraints the provincial treasurer faced in developing the budget. Huch of the deficit cudge te d for is a direct result of federal government policies. $3.5 billion in lost revenue is due to cuts in transfer payments and the cap on the Canada Assistance Plan. Changes in unemployment insurance are forcing more and more of the unemployed onto welfare. Welfare costs are expected to reach $4.9 billion this year, up from $2.5 billion two years ago. An unemployment rate of 10 pe~ cent, representing 184,000 jobs lost in the economy, is directly related to the free trade agreement, a high dollar and high interest rates. The provincial budget held the 1 ine on child care with a S 4 6 5 million commitment, up from $396 million in 1990. This figure includes the previously announced $30 million down payment on pay equity and the $22.8 million commited to bringing 5000 neH spaces on line. The only new initiative directly mentioned in the budget is $5 million in capital funding for Native centres on reserves. Other budget initiatives that may have an impact on child care include: a review of educational facilities towards a community-based, multi-use of schools is already underway. A $300 million capital fund for schools, beginning in 1994, will incorporate this approach. an additional $25 million has been earmarked for pay equity settlements for smaller agencies which could be of assistance to child care workers who are now excluded from the down payment . . a $215 million package for welfare reform includes an expansion of the SEP program, part of which is earmarked for child care costs. �, Recent correspondence from the Hon. Zanana Akande. Minister of Community and Social Services, informs us that the Ministry has initiated a "comprehensive review of the child care system with the goal to make it more accessible and affordable". The NWORDCC must analyze this review and continue to press for a fundamental restructuring of child care that will take into account the funding inequities experienced by •northern child care. and ensure the comprehensive and equitable system that Ontario families need. WELCOME Kerry Mccuaig as the new Executive Director of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child C~re. Barbara Lysnes as summer staff for the N.W.O.R.D.C.C. Margaret Phillips is taking a well-earned holiday. ONTARIO COALITION FOR BETTER CHILD CARE LAUNCHES CHILD CARE NETWORK The Coalition is offering membership in a network that will facilitate badly needed training. benefits, and accounting and administrative services to child care programs across the province. The Network is also designed to expand and strengthen the lobbying structure of the Coalition. ANNUAL NETWORK MEMBERSHIP FEES Child Care Centres Private Home Day Care Agencies Other unlicensed Child Care Related Programs NETWORK SERVICES $125 plus Sl per licensed child care space $ 75 per agency plus S1 per home S 50 per program For more information contact the Coalition at (416) 324-9080 . representation at Coalition Council and Executive Table; advocacy on issues of interest to Network members. special training workshops on advocacy, board and staff development, general administration, program evaluation, multicultural and special needs programming; preferred registration in all educational events, conferences, seminars. access to the Coalition information and resource centre and consultation and referral services, including the video library; one free copy of all Coalition and Network publications. participation in central 1 y administered staff insurance and benefits package; access to benefit levels and rates usually only available to very large employers . . preferred rates on Coalition's computerized Financial Management Services package, and new computer software programs for day care. �Pay equity has added a new wrinlde • to an old debate By Julie Mathieu THOUGH THE debate about the • nee<tfor or desirability of child • care has long since been •resolved. the question of how it should be paid for is still lively, even rancorous. In the main, there are two kinds of •. child care - profit and non-profit. These terms describe not just two sets of ledgers but two different • understandings of the same important task. • Whether there should be profit in child care at all has been ·questioned repeatedly since the mid-1970s. That's •. when child care advocates noted how • quickly large, commercial operators supported unsuccessful government . attempts to reduce the standards ·, regulating child care in Ontario. , Tensions since then between the commercial sector and non-profit • advocates have focused on this question: Is it appropriate to provide public money to commercial child .care? Whether Conservative, Liberal or New Democrat, successive Ontario • governments since the 1970s have provided money to encourage child • care expansion. When the Conservative • government made available capital and '. start-up funding, only non-profit and publicly operated centres were eligible. The Liberals differentiated between •for-profit and non-profit programs in •allocating grants to raise staff salaries. The New Democrats continued this r.rogression when they announced a ; 'down payment" on pay equity for •child care staff. Under this initiative, government funds will help child care •programs with the cost of meeting the · salary increases arising from the first step toward pay equity. The funds will be provided only to non-profit . programs. . Governments, both P,ast and present, have recognized the difference between for-profit and non-profit child care. In a commercial centre, individuals or corporations hold equity and earn profit. Non-profit centres are operated by boards of directors elected by the members. Surplus (an unlikely event, since non-profit budgets are calculated on a break-even basis) does not go out as profit. but must be put back into the child t.'Ve program. When resources are removed from a program in the form of profit, the impact is significant. Research has repeatedly shown that the for-profit sector is more likely to deliver poor quality care. : Child care centre owners have • • always protested what they perceive as the favored status of the non-profit sector. This time, both owners and staff in commercial centres have claimed that the government pay equity funding initiative discriminates against them. The staff are right in one respect: ~ underpaid female workers in a ghettoized profession, they deserve equal pay for work of equal value. They have, however, chosen the wrong target for their dissatisfaction. The money for pay equity for staff in commercial day cares should not come from the public purse but from the_, . profits of the.owners - the employers. Fees to parents in for-profit centres generally keep pace with those in non-profits even though staff salaries have traditionally been lower in commercial child care. The bulk of the profit is generated by this difference in salaries. The prospect of t>roviding pay equity adjustments to their employees bas elicited the same response from child care owners that is heard from other businesses: They insist that pay equity is unaffordable. They threaten that centres will close and that children will P ARTICULARLY during a recession, when revenue is down, government should not give funds to commercial child care to assist with pay equity. Funds for this purpose already exist in the form of profit. However, dealing with the entire situation is not simple. It involves more players than government and needs a more complicated response than a simple refusal. Parents in for-profit programs may be panicked at threats of fee increases to cover the salary raises resulting from pa;: equity. They should support the child care staff 1n their legitimate desire for fair wages, funded by the owners' profits. Commercial child care operators often maintain that they do not make a profit. If parents are convinced that this 1s the case in their child's centre, they might want to discuss with the owner the possibility that the best business option might be to convert to non-profit status. As for staff in commercial centres, they deserve the same pay equit)' adjustments as their colleagues in the non-profit sector and shoufd demand suffer. fair compensation from their employers . The owners have also made it clear The provincial government has both that, if they do stay in business, they short- and long-term obligations. will raise parent fees to cover the cost Owners of for-profit centres will need of pay equity rather than dip into their government information on how they profit margin. . can implement pay equity. In addition. How much of the cost of conducting the province must provide assistance in business should government underwrite? As representatives of labor converting commercial centres to non-profit status when the owner have pointed out. other: employers, wishes to do so or when the owner especially those operating small decides to shut down. Sound businesses, could make the same government direction can mean that argument for publi~ fund~ to . centres will not close and child care implement pay equity. Child care 1s spaces.will not be lost. more complex than, say, ladies' Finall)f, government must start to clothin_g because there is a non-profit change the child care system so that it sector tor comparison. The child care becomes a public service rather than owners maintain that they should be able to compete with non-profit centres remaining simply another element in the marketplace. in the areas of staff salaries and fees to families. However, they don't want to 0 Julle Mathlen Is a child care adviser spend their own funds to do this; they with the Toronto Board of EducaUon. want to spend tax· dollars. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, May 1991 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News May 1991. Includes information about subsidized child care spaces in Northwestern Ontario; Private Home Day Care Conference in Thunder Bay; the sixth Annual Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Forum; Boards of Education child care centres in Thunder Bay and Dorion; Professional Development for the Child Care Community in the District of Thunder Bay; provincial budget overview with a focus on child care funding, pay equity and welfare reform; Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care launching Child Care Network and membership. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_91may Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada -Ontario- Thunder Bay https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/5146c4cd09eff523b09fd4a928ed7e9e.pdf ba8b0b73122c7e8bc6dbe2286f56f35f PDF Text Text NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGIONAL CHILD CARE COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER N.W.O.R.C.C.C. NEWS NAME CHANGE In order to better reflect the range of child care services offered in the Northwest, we have changed our name from the Nort h western Ontario Regional Day Care Committee to the North~estern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee. NEW ADDRESS !!! The N.W.O.R.C.C.C. has moved to a new site. We are now located at 4A South Court St. , office #7, in the Ruttan Building across from Eatons. Our mailing address: P.O. Box 24037 70 N. Court St. Thunder Bay, ON P7A 8A9 We are pleased to be in a larger, brighter space. Our phone and fax are now in fine working order. We apologize to those of you who had a difficult time trying to reach us this winter. Please give us a call and let us know what's happening in your area. The staff are now working parttime hours so if we are not in the office, please leave a message and we will get back to you. Phone: 345-8803 Fax:345-8803 N.W.O.R.C.C.C. FALL FORUMS The N.W.O.R.C.C.C. held public forums in the fall of 1994. The forums took place in Marathon on Oct. 1st and then again in Kenora on Oct. 29th. The theme for the 1994 Regional Forums was "Supporting the Changing Needs of Families in Northwestern Ontario". The purpose of each forum was to facilitate regional discussions with providers, parents and advocates, encouraging them to voice their concerns on child care issues in Northwestern Ontario. It was apparent from the discussions that old attitudes and values regarding the family, women and the workplace and child care still exist in Northwestern Ontario. In order to change these attitudes participants saw a need for more public education to help increase the number of child care advocates in Northwestern Ontario. ("strength in numbers"). Education on child care issues can empower individuals to influence and participate in the child care decisions that can effect their lives and those of their children. Participants then worked on developing an "action plan" to address these needs. They realized that they could help bring about positive change by talking to their family, friends, co-workers etc., about current child care issues. In this process they are helping to mobilize individuals to influence and �be a part of child care decisions in Ontario. If you are interested in finding out more about the results of the Forum, contact Barbara or Joanne at the N.W.O.R.C.C.C. office (3458803) to receive a copy of the Forum report. N.W.O.R.D.C.C. Community Outreach One of the N.W.O.R.C.C.C. 's goals for the 1995 year is to conduct community outreach in Northwestern Ontario. We have formed a working committee composed of Council members and an Outreach Co-ordinator. This committee will design a strategy for outreach to educate individuals and mobilize them on child care issues. The Outreach Committee will identify methods needed to achieve this goal, i.e. a video on child care in the North. The Royal Commission On Lea1ning The Royal Commission on Learning is recommending that school boards provide both half and full day Early Childhood Education programs for all three to five year olds. This program would be operating under the Ministry of Education and would expand on the current Junior and senior kindergarten to cover a whole day. It co-ordinates child care and educational services. It is designed to help eliminate the problem of the divided day for children in kindergarten, who often have two to four different care givers a day, creating a "seamless" day for children and their parents. The program is optional, parents do not have to enrol their children. There would be no charge for the program during the regular school day from 9am to 3:30 pm. Fees would be charged for those needing extended day care from 7-9 am and 3:30-6 pm. Child care subsidies would still be available for those who are eligible. Pilot Projects involving 4 - 5 year olds will begin in Ontario in the Fall of 1995. Children will be taught by a combination of E.C.E. 's, certified teachers and teaching assistants. The projects will last five years and will include an ongoing evaluation during that period. The Ministry of Education and Training is inviting school boards to apply for the pilot projects this spring. While the NWORDCC council applauds any steps towards universal. publicly funded Early childhood Education, we also have a number of concerns regarding the Royal Commissions recommendations. They include the following: . That all children would be respected for their individual development . The programs provide a publicly funded seamless day for children . Both parents and educators must work together as a team to insure the quality of the programs. . Parents would have to be art of the pilot projects evaluation process . That the ratios would not exceed the maximum of 1/12. . The governing body of these programs include parents, providers and advocates . No existing community bodies such as Day Cares disappear �. Clearly written job descriptions would exist for the successful integration of E.C.E. 'sand teachers . . Tenure security for policy around maintaining existing child care space in schools If you have any concerns around the Royal Commissions' recommendations, The NWORCCC would like to hear them. Our FAX# is 345-8803. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Newsletter Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Newsletter. Includes information about the name change from Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee to Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee with information of new address; 1994 Regional Forums in Marathon and Kenora; Outreach Committee; Royal Commission on Learning. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1994 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nworcccn_94_ Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Marathon Canada - Ontario - Kenora https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/c59885f14fbc442819ee528b66e0bc5c.pdf b01fd833f764b73ab53d9bafe3c970b7 PDF Text Text ·Narth\Nestern Ontario Day Care News May 1988 NWO DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout the region, as well as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmental policy/legislation and advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter will combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through the sharing of resources, ideas and action plans, we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send art~cles, news clippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4V5 N.W.O.R.D.C.C. Membership Structure out NWORDCC work. Your 1988 Council members are: (*denotes executive) Leila Daciw (Thunder Bay, F), Sharon Hart (Thunder Bay, F) Heather Hawkes (Thunder Bay P), Fiona Karlstedt* (Thunder Bay, P), Phyllis Kellar (Fort Frances), Veronica Kreidl (Marathon), Wilma Molinaro (Red Rock), Paula Nelligan (Thunder Bay, F), Anita Price (Thunder Bay, P), Brenda Rikkonen* (Thunder Bay F), Holly Rupert* (Red Lake), Diane Sarrazin (Geraldton), Eva Shields (Atikokan), Donna Wasykowski* (Fort Frances), Marilyn Wells (Sioux Lookout), Janet Wilkinson (Sioux Lookout). The Forum also approved a membership structure and fees. Membership categories are: Category A: Municipal Councils/Indian Band Council; Day Care Centres; Professional Organizations; Regional Associations; Labour Unions. Fee: $50.00 and The growth and maturation of the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee prompted your Steering Committee to recommend a more formal structure for our organization, which was adopted at the Regional Forum in February. A COUNCIL of fifteen representatives (three from each provincial political constituency) will direct the activities of the organization and will meet (at least) three times per year. An EXECUTIVE of five (one from ·each political constituency) will meet as required between Council meetings to carry Category B: Parent Groups, Voluntary Community Organizations Fee: $25.00 Category C: Individuals. Fee: $5.00 A membership Committee has been iormed, and a membership campaign will be organized. Details about how YQ.\!. can help with the membership campaign will be sent to you at a later date. CONTINUED ... �• -2Your membership Committee is looking for a logo to appropriately represent the NWORDCC. Your ideas (designs) would be welcomed. ... please send them to Veronica Kreidl, Box 998, Marathon. The first meeting of your new Council was held March 19 and an extensive agenda was productively covered. Issues dealt with included direct grants, the Funding Advisory Committee, federal policy, day care workers qualifications and (our) budget. Priorities established for 1988/89 are (1) weighting factor; (2) Funding Advisory Committee; and (3) membership campaign. REGIONAL NEWS GERALDTON Submitted by Diane Sarrazin Teachers and children have been busy visiting the community. Tour of Dane ff' s Food Market, tour of the Royal Bank, spring walk looking for pussy willows, tour of the fire station, and visit from the ambulance. We are looking forward to visiting our local OPP detachment and MNR fire base in the near future. During May we hosted a Mother's Day Tea and eighth Family Night Supper. Due to recent government grants allocated to the centre and the Rural Resource Program we have purchased a computer which we hope will be set up soon with our school age children. RED ROCK Submitted by Wilma Molinaro On Sunday April 24, 1988, Red Rock Day Care Centre hosted an "Open House" for the public to come and see the new Centre. The Day Care is located in the basement of the new library expansion and has just been newly-renovated. Over 100 people _ attended the Open House and M. P. Ernie Epp and Mrs. Epp drove in from Thunder Bay to see the new facility. Ruth Wells, Program Supervisor from the Ministry of Community and Social Services and her son Andrew also attended. The Day Care has children attending since May 2nd and the Centre can accommodate 2 o children. Anyone wishing to see our new centre is more than welcome to come by. Our phone number is 886-2568. The Official Opening ceremonies for the centre will be held June 7th. We continue to have a long waiting list especially for the children ranging from 4-6 years of age. FORT FRANCES Submitted by Phyllis Kellar The Fort Frances Day Care and Child Development Centre is still full with a long waiting list. Town Council has made a decision about the direct grant and has decided that this money will be paid in 1988 as a direct ea·rned bonus payment, for the Day Care Supervisor,- Teachers, Cook and substitute staff. CONTINUED �-3- The Day Care staff enjoyed taking part in the picture book campaign and many thanks for the photo copy of our contribution to the picture book. We had a successful Mother's Day Luncheon at the Centre. The children made cards, gifts and corsages for their moms and made dinner for them which they all enjoyed. It was a successful event with 71 in attendance. MARATHON Submitted by Veronica Kreidl Things are going well here at the centre. We received a grant from the Trillium Foundation for $12,600. The money will be spent on toys, equipment, supplies and on staff development. We have also received the direct · grant from COMSOC. • This money will be used to increase staff salaries which everybody is thrilled about. ineffective and do nothing for child care. We re-iterated our position that quality child care will only be provided by the expansion of the non-profit sector, and expressed concern with the government's unprecedented support to commercial day care operations. We pointed out that the representations by Northwestern Ontario day care people to the Special Committee on Child Care had been ignored, and the federal strategy does not address our recommendations for a comprehensive, high-quality, nonprofit child care system. We recommended that the proposed strategy be abandoned and be replaced by a national strategy with clear objectives and criteria that will ensure that all Canadian families have equal access to licensed child care services, and that the federal government provide adequate financial resources to the provinces to ensure a comprehensive child care system is developed. We presently have 98 children in total registered in the Marathon Day Care program. This is great to see. Copies of our position paper are available.· .. just write us at Box 144, Thunder Bay, P7C 4V5. FEDERAL POLICY The Federal child care policy must be stopped. Contact your MP and MPP today to express your concern. In response to the federal government's National Strategy on Child Care, the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee prepared a position paper which was sent to Prime Minister Mulroney, Health & Welfare Minister Jake Epp, opposition critics, and all Northwestern Ontario MPs and MPPs. The focus of our paper was that the proposed strategy was regressive; the new Child Care Act would have the effect of restricting rather than expanding child care spaces; that tax measures will be The Tory way ... No Way' �. -4DIRECT OPERATING GRANT The long-awaited Direct Operating Grant has been implemented (retroactive to January 1, 1988) by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. For many years, the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee, (and others) have advocated for the direct grant, and we welcome the news that the grant is "in place". The implementation of the grant is, however, not without its problems, and the impact of the direct grant must-be monitored. The first priority for the use of the direct grant is to increase existing staff salaries and/or benefits and to increase payments to (PHDC) providers. However, the Ministry's guidelines provide for "special circumstances" whereby a municipality/Board of Directors may make application for an exemption, and use the grant for other purposes (e.g. reducing transitional subsidy). It is unfortunate that the guidelines have provided "exceptions", as this is leading to considerable inconsistency in the use of the funds across the province. What should have been a tremendous morale booster for all day care workers is, for some, having the opposite effect, and may result in further inequities. We are pleased to note _ that many Northwestern Ontario centres have applied the direct grant to wages and benefits. But it is very discouraging to learn that several centres are not intending to use the grant for this purpose. Whether or not the direct grant works well is dependent on the goodwill of the municipality/Board of Directors (and in some cases the union). Serious inconsistencies in ' the implementation of the direct grant can only augment the problems of our troubled child care system. WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO MONITOR THE SITUATION AND KEEP THE N.W.O.R.D.C.C. INFORMED OF THE WAY THE DIRECT OPERATING GRANT IS BEING USED IN YOUR COMMUNITY. Your information is essential for the NWORDCC to be able to make recommendations to the Ministry to improve the process. The Ministry's guidelines concerning the grant are outlined in a booklet entitled Child Care Direct Operating Grants, Guidelines and Procedures: Non-Profit Sector. Your municipality/Board of Directors should have received this booklet. Or obtain a copy by contacting your Area COMSOC office. Many people have expressed interest in learning the "formula" for direct grant funding. The following excerpt from the Ontario Coalition for Better Child care newsletter provides an example of the funding formula. What is "The Formula" ror Calculation or The Direct Operating Grant? Complete details about the funding formulae can be obtained from the Guidelines, but it might be of interest to indicate how the formula works with a practical example. Essentially, the formula weights factors of age, h9urs of operation, and months of service, with a point system, the result of which is then multiplied by a dollar value IO determine the annual (or quarterly) granL (Operating Capacity X Age Weightings) X Months Open = Total Points On an annual basis, a centre with an enrollment of 10 infant, 15 toddler and 32 pre-school children which operated from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. for twelve months of the year could expect to receive: For Infants: oo Infants x 36 Points} x 12 months = 4,320 POINTS l For Toddlers: CJ5 Toddlers X 24 Points) X !2 months = 4,320 POINTS = 5,760 POINTS l For Pre-school (32 Pre-school X !5 Pojnts) X 12 months l The point value allowed to this centre totals: 14,400 POINTS In 1988, each point is valued at S4.12 for the year. As a result, in this example, the centre would receive a direct grant, divided inro quarterly payments of $14,832. and IOtalling $59,328 for the year. �-5Take pride that your advocacy has helped in making direct grants a reality, but realize that continued advocacy will be required to develop the comprehensive and adequately funded child care system we deserve. the major Canadian child care organization was an object lesson for all who attended the Conference. The need for increased political action by all day care advocates is very clear, and delegates left the lobby determined to redouble their efforts to achieve appropriate day care policy. C.D.C.A.A. CONFERENCE Rejection of the federal government's "National Strategy on Child Care" was the unifying force that dominated the second National Child care Conference held in Ottawa in April. Sponsored by the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association the Conference brought together over 500 delegates from across Canada, including six Northwestern Ontario representations. Day care workers, parents, administrators, educators, advocates from Newfoundland to the Yukon were united in their opposition to the federal strategy and determined to take all possible action to reverse this policy. The federal government's lack of concern for child care was evidenced by the Prime Minister's and senior cabinet members failure to accept the C.D.C.A.A.'s invitation to attend the Conference to receive the "Picture Book" which had been compiled by day care groups across the country (see article on our contribution to Picture Book Campaign page 7). It was further evidenced when no senior government member attended the lobby. The Conservative backbenchers who did attend the lobby were, however, given a very clear message, as delegate after delegate rose to explain why the federal policy failed to meet their community's need. The unwillingness of senior Conservative members to meet with While the federal strategy was the key issue for all attending this well organized conference, delegates also participated in a series of informative workshops, and developed new networks that will strengthen our community work. FREE TRADE FORUM The Threat to Non-profit Child Care in Canada (reprinted from the Toronto star, April 21, 1988) This fall, while Canadian and American trade negotiators hammered out final details of the free trade agreement, child care advocates fearfully speculated· about the future of child care in Canada. It was rumoured that new federal proposals would flow funds to commercial child care businesses, encouraging American companies to cross the border to operate in this country and ending our ability to create our own high quality child care system. Speculation that the free trade agreement would include human services as tradeable i terns further fueled these concerns. The details of both the free trade deal and the federal child care strategy are now public. The potential effects of • the combination are alarming. �-6- U.S. Child Care Policy Child care policy in the United States is more poorly developed than that of any of the industrialized (and many nonindustrialized) countries; indeed, the United States even lacks a national maternity leave policy. An effort to establish a national child care policy failed with former President Richard Nixon's veto of a major bill in 1971, and an attempt to upgrade federal child care standards was derailed in the late 1970s. There is no provision for funding child care services per se and in President Ronald Reagan's era, subsidies for low income children have become almost impossible to secure. In the absence of a national policy and public fund, child care in America is viewed as a commodity sold in the marketplace. The gap is partly filled by businesses that primarily aim at the middle class market. Increasingly, these are operated by a few multi-million dollar corporations with substantial venture capital and the capacity to expand into new market. Currently, our federal government imposes no barrier to the establishment of American child care businesses in Canada nor to the subsidization of families using these services under the social assistance provisions of the Canada Assistance Plan. Some provincial governments have established their own criteria. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Nova Scotia have limited the growth or support of commercial services; other, such as Alberta, have encouraged and heavily subsidized commercial operations. The recently announced federal proposals set a dangerous precedent. For the first time, provinces may use federal funds to fund businesses directly and provide subsidies in commercial programs more easily. Child care advocates fear that this will act as an incentive to American companies, with their large pools of capital, to locate in Canada. Government Denials Throughout the fall, Barbara McDougall, Minister Reponsible for Women's Issues, and Welfare Minister, Jake Epp, said that child care had been explicitly excluded from the free trade agreement. Indeed, it is not listed as a tradeable service in the provisions of the trade agreement that specifically deal with services. Interpretations of other portions of the agreement, however, suggest that it could be impossible for a provincial government to deny U.S. entrepreneurs access to public funding for child care in Canada. Further, the agreement could make it impossible for a government to deny American companies funds available to other child care programs, even capital funds. Trade observers believe it likely that one section, Clause 2011 could give rise to a pressure point against the development of a nonprofit child care system. The impact of the free trade agreement on the development of a child care system in Canada is a matter of interpretation and conjecture., There are, however, red flags that ind:1.cate danger, and we would be well-advised to heed them. For Canada, child care, like health care, education and other human services, should not be a trading matter-free or otherwise. Martha Friendly Child Care Resource & Research Unit University of Toronto �( Modern Living .l Childcare picturebook makes way to city -7- {the <£hroniclc-3fournal • _ By JO-ANS MIHALICH Chronicle-Journal Staff _!aturday, April 9, 1988 :· -·- \·. ~-..., t -, . . · •• 21 I : . ~/. . The Northwestern Ontario Region'arDay Care Committee and the Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Child Care will be 'throwing the book' at Ottawa this month to denounce the government's national strategy on child care. The two groups are taking part in a picture book campaign to highlight their opposition to the child care plan. Co-sponsored by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and the Daycare Advocacy Association, the campaign provides an opportunity for the public to demonstrate support for the development of a comprehensive child care system. ' • At a press conference Thursday night at the constituency office of MP Ernie Epp CNOP-Thunder BayNipigonl, committee council member Anita Price unveiled the large • binder-type book. The picturebook - to be on display in Ottawa April 22 - has been moving across Canada MPs ERNIE EPP AND IAIN ANGUS WITH ANITA PRICE, RIGHT gathering pictures and messages ... display giant photo album travelling across Canada along its way. Price says Prime Minister Brian ularly for. infant care, schocl-a~ government's national strategy on Mulroney has been invited to attend tion or the financial resom:ces to programs, emergency care an child care. prepared by the N.W.O. the opening of the exhibit and will achieve a comprehensive child care services for shift-working familie system. Regional Day Care Committee. receive their message that the Tory she said. As well. many comm, She said during the federal study child care strategy will impede the The child care strategy's provinities are without any child ca1 development of child care in Canada sion for spaces and the tax measures by the special committee on child services and require a range of pr, and should be withdrawn. are of major concern to both groups. care. many N.W.O. people made grams. • ''The federal government needs to With a demonstrated need for one presentations in Dryden and Thun''The needs of N.W.O. can be m1 know how parents. early childhood million spaces this yeitr, PriC-' says der Bay. N.W.O. presenters consisby a significant infusion of gover1 the proposed 200,000 new spaces educators and concerned citizens tently advocated for a comprehenment spending - the spending in tt feel about the national strategy on over seven years is "clearly inadesive. high quality, non-profit child form of direct operating and c:ipit, child care,·· said Price, in her adquate.'' _ care system. grants to non-profit day care organ dress. . N.W.O, reps did not recommend •·our recommendations to the spe.zations." In presenting Epp and MP Iain tax measures. Tax deductions will cial committee stressed our desire Referring to the national chi! Angus <NOP-Thunder Bay-Atikodo nothing to create new day care _ for the federal_government to give care strategy, Angus said the Torie kan I with a copy of the N.W.O. conspaces. Price argues that tax credits leadership and support to the prov"blew it." ''do not address the issue of quality tribution to the book, Price said. inces and territories with adequate The politician said the' govern "We as your constituents, call upon care and do not make care more affinancial resources to provide the ment didn't establish national objec you to take action and see that the fordable or available." comprehensive, high quality, nonlives in which federal money woul< national child care policy be re-eval''Another issue we felt was not profit system that we need." uated." properly addressed is the support of Presenters also stressed quality The N.W.O. contribution includes the commercial sector. We are ap- - be available for child care spaces care and the need for workers to be snapshots of interviews with those in palled by the unprecedented support ( The government should have ere trained in early childhood education ated a fixed number of spaces ai the day care industry and with early to commercial day care operations as well as the issue of adequate well as placed funding at an ad childhood educaticn students of Conthat the strategy implies." wages. Price feels that the N.W.0. equate level "that'makes it accessi federation College. Within communities currently oprepresentations were ignored !:>y the ble regardless of income." Price also presented Epp and Anerating programs, the need for exspecial.committee., She says the In the 1984 election, Epp said thE gus with a brief in response to the • strategy does not provide the direcpansion is apparent, most particNOP "pressed hard" to institute , national child care program and hi: govern~ent w!ll continue the figh· for quality child care. Angus saic day care very well could be a "na tional platform" for the NOP in thE next federal election. "We see it as the social issue oJ our time," Epp said. The picture bo.ok campaign launched in Toronto on Feb. 'r/ and has since travelled to Newfoundland and Laf>rador, Nova Scotia New Brunswick, North York, H~arst, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder' Bay. The book's next destination is Sar- ! - ....: .. L - I'! . . - I • • ,...., • �·--~-S~ .sJ. )-\j \L\j\i~ -8- Non-profit • day-care does the best job study shows By Leslie Fruman Toronto Star Children in non-profit centres in Metro get better day care than those in centres run for profit, a government study has found. The. study found that commer· cial centres violate the Ontario Day Nurseries Act and fail to meet minimum standards far mor1r often than non-profit centres. , "I think it's very clear that in major issues, commercially operat• ed centres aren't operated as well," study author Sharon West said. "You could say they're not as· good," said West, who was hired,by the Ministry of Community and So- . cfal Services for the review. :, ., .:, .. ·The study, done at The Star's re-: quest, found that from March;.: 1987, to February, 1988: • .:: Almost 54 per cent of com- •• mercial centres failed to hav~ enough qualified staff as required by the act, compared to 15 pet . cent of parent- or community-run . non-profit centres. F.ive dlffeuqt kinds of non-profit centres were 1n; eluded In the study. • .•~ •. • □ Commercial centres took long• See NON-PROFTr/page AlO a Non-profit centres do best in study Continued from page Al er than other centres to correct staffing problems. Ninety-rive per cent of nonprofit centres with parent or community boards solved staff short· ages within six months, compared lo 77 per cent of commercial centres. In fact, 11 per cent of commercial centres still had staff shortages after 10 months. □ Parents at commercial centres complained more than twice as often as p.1rents at other centres about the way they were run. The study found 33 per centof. commercial centres had complaints lodged against them, compared to 13 per cent of non-profit centres. •Of 133 complaints iodgec) wfth the' province, 99 ot them were . ' .. about commercial centres. Al- centres were each visited 3.2 though commercial centres repre- times. sent only 42 per of the centres 'i>rovam adivsers spent more studied, they received 74 per cent of their time at commercially of the complaints. operated centres than non-profit □ Commercial centres more parent/community board operatoften than non-profit centres had ed centres, and most of this time restricted licences because of act was for quality-control reasons," violations. While 21 per cent. of the i:eport ..ays. commercial operators had shdrt.· The findings come on the heels of term licences, only 6.8 per cent of- announcements by ·Ottawa and non-profit community-run centres Queen's Park that commercial had the same type of restricted li- ,. centres will receive government cence. · •• · • ·• ~ _; aid for the first time. □ Commercial centres were:· · Though the study shows com· visited. mare often by. the minis- . mercial centres have the worst· try's program advisers because of record, it also reveals that not all problems or complaints than any ' non-profit centres are the same. other type of centre. • It shows that non-profit centres The study shows commercial run by churches or by boards that centres were each visited an av.er-. -~ don't include parents don't meet age of 4.7 times. while non-profit · \tthe requiremeqts as often as those parent or comp_1unlty 6oard ~ereparents-!iave a say. . � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News, May 1988 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News May 1988. Includes information about Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee structure and membership; day care news for Red Rock, Geraldton, Fort Frances, and Marathon; NWO position paper to the federal government's National Strategy on Child Care; Direct Operating Grant; Canadian Day Care Advisory Association Conference; Free Trade Forum and the U.S. Child Care policy. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1988-05 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee: under copyright. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context nwodcn_88may Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Canada - Ontario - Red Rock Canada - Ontario - Geraldton Canada - Ontario - Fort Frances Canada - Ontario - Marathon https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/a0e7b1e2dff347bc538fe8d4bf7c49a7.pdf c85b4118453383bd0d334dd42bcaa4e6 PDF Text Text � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Timber Operators' Association Map Subject The topic of the resource Forest Products Industry Description An account of the resource Map of Northwestern Ontario with the location of lumber camps, saw mills, pulp or paper mills, and wood processing plants indicated. Likely mid-1950s. Part of Northwestern Ontario Development Association fonds. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Timber Operators' Association Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource PDF Language A language of the resource English 1950s forest industry lumber camps Map Northwestern Ontario paper mills saw mills https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/410c47f63b3093a416dc18cf4dcb14e3.mp3 50d9889c7e2c2e2d5594d9fac554b494 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/0bf9bda3bc2e6ca1787dcf4464679786.mp3 b91e4e5becfe39eff6d039225d2e78a3 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/5da075abefd2ebfa02058a1a555de252.pdf cbabafa68b879647067d3c3b15adc946 PDF Text Text T / j HERSTORY PROJECT Mrs. Peltier interviewed by Helen Lovekin - Q. ~hat year were you born? A. 1896. Q. How long have you lived here in Atikokan? A. Since Q. When did you move up to Northern Ontario? A. In 1923. 1923. We went to Keshabowieand there were 13 houses at that time including the school, the Post Office the store, everything. Q. What brought you into Northern Ontario? A. Work - we couldn't be were we had no work. You see we were close to Winnipeg and it was the time of the Depression and a man that comes from Montreal and goes and settles in Saskatchewan with crop failure year after year will sell it. Q. Did he work on the railway? A. Yes, there is where he started when we moved close to Winnipeg, he was laid off in the fall because he was a new employee. All winter long we had no- thing to eat - just what I could squeeze so hard in the summer time, we just barely lived. Q. So you grew things in a garden? A. Of course, we had to, we had to do something. All the berries we could get at least for at Christmas time - that was the least we had to have. With time and application, each time there was an opening at some place on the CN, he kept applying until he got the job at Kashabowie. Q. How did you feel about leaving Montreal? A. I didn't live in Montreal, my husband was from Montreal. I think it must have been a hard time for him too. Q. Are you from Quebec or ... ? A. No, I am from Manitoba. Q. How did you feel about the change? A. I was glad as long as I got something to eat and feed my children with. There was not much of a future but at least we knew we would have something to eat all year round. When a man worked frcrn April to October and then he is laid �off and not a dollar is coming in. "' No matter how careful you are you have to have a few clothes for the children, you have got to get a pair of shoes now and then - it was no life. I would have gone anywhere, anyplace as long as we were earning our daily bread and I didn ' t believe in going "on the town" and I was too proud to go and ask for help like that, so it was rough. Q. For the sake of being independant, I was willing to go anywhere. There was nothing I wouldn't do to better myself. q When you came to Kashabowie you said there were 13 buildings - how many children did you have with you at that time? A. Three, I went over there with a three week old baby. The other two were tugging at my skirt, and a bag of diapers and a few cookies for them because I had 12 hours of train ride. I never forget when I arrive over there my heart went down so low. Q. A. Why? r \'1\ .Q..'() l • Mainly becaaee) they don't trust us too much sometimes. .. 1J IYI 1, He told me about a nice, white little cottage that I was going to go to, well, I was so happy and I looked forward to that white cottage. It was on a hill alright, but it was an old cutter ' s shack only partly whitewashed.. Q. When your husband was working in Kashabowie what sort of things did you do? A. Entertainment, you mean? Q. Yes. We stayed there four years and the only thing that we could do was at Christ- A. mas time when they had some kind of Christmas Concert~y the children who were going to school, in fact - e ¼:c was one of the pupils, she did her first year, Outside of that, they were all Finlanders and there were maybe two or three families that 1,eren 't - two Francais and the others must have been English. those Finnish I'm telling you it was lonely and they would invite us women, and they were very nice and very entertaining with their baking, ver-J generous. But they all speak their language and us, we were just sitting there like a bump on a log. Actually it was boring for us but for the sake of seeing somebody - you get to a point in places like that - I guess you go backwards instead of forwards. You think more of your problems than of something brighter. Q. Uhen you were with these women, and although it wa-s boring because they didn't speak any English, was it more for the sake of being with the company of women? �3 A. Yes, it Has for company's sake. You Even if it was boring, it was still something. were g etting dressed, you took time to get dressed, put on the best dress you owned, fix your hair, you made your girls as pretty as little dolls and it was something to do apart from cooking the cheapest way and' scrubbing those bare floors and carrying water, like I did by the pailful. pail up the hill. Pail after It was a change that was really helpful al though it was boring to sit there and not know what was being talked about. Then every- body lmitted in their own way - the Finlanders don't hold the needles like we do and do they ever go fast and the beautiful knitting. They were won- derful women and wonderful workers with the exception of the language problem. Q. Did you have more children while you stayed at Kashabowie? A. Yes, I had two more and each time I moved back home to have them. Q. You never had them in a hospital? A. Never. Q. Who helped you with the children? A. A neighbor - there was always an old neighbor, somebody older than I was, Who helped you as a midwife? Everybody did it, I helped you today and tomorrow you helped me. it myself too after I was older. I did Not for money, at no time did we take money. And then the entertainment - I've seen at times if somebody who could sing came, it was a singing party. Q. A. lhy did you come to Atikokan? 1 For a better living again. From Kashabowie, of course my husbaJ1d kept bidding for the section foreman's job and then we went to ------- for year but he couldn't handle the work so we got transferred to Emo. one I wanted school by that time for the children. Q. They were old eno,ue;h to go to school? A. He had two of school age and then I wanted school because I didn't have all the schooling I lrnuld have liked to have and I didn't want my children to be in the same boat. So we went to Erno and we stayed there 28 years so the children all got their education there and of course in Fort Frances soon as they went into other courses. I came here after my husband retired, you have 8 children and small ch~cks all the time, in fact I always tried to earn money myself outside to make up. All he had was a $40 pension per month and we couldn't pay ta-xes, we cou:1dn't pay fuel, we couldn't pay hydro, we couldn't eat/and the work over there was not good enough for me. �Q. What were these jobs? A. No, in the hospital. Cooking in camps? Anyway I decided we should come here and I '11 get a house and I'll keep bo\ders because mines were still in full swing. of the mines - this was 22 years ago and the That is w-J:nt I did, I caine here, and I bought a house for 9 thousand dollars and I had almost 2 thousand dollars of furniture because I had to have a large freezer and leaving a place where I had no electric appliances, I caine here and I needed those things. In seven years, I was clear - I didn't owe a dollar to nobody. Q. For both tmms, Erno and Atikokan, when you moved to Emo, was it already an established toim? A. Yes, but it wasssmall, about 700 I think. Q. Not, like Kashabowie. A. No, at least there was a four room public school and there was a two room high school and there were three churches. There was a better future for my children and I wanted my children to have better than what I had. Q. In again,- Atikokari, what was it like 22 years ago? A. Not too many sidewalks. Q. Was it like a hole punched in the bush? A. Not, really, it was better than Emo. Better grocery stores, better schools but then I didn't need those things then because my children were all gone, in fact, my twins had just finished their courses. self. So I was really for my- I had three grandsons that were that age besides my own. Then they were teenagers so they were not small as to tie me dmm, so I was free to ) work. Q. You are very strong about the idea of improving your life for your chttdren, from the interview from Mrs. Uebber she has mentioned that you are deeply involved with the Catholic Church? Was that a religious conviction, a pers- onal convic:tion to work for your children? My parents were Catholics and I was brought up a Catholic. But there was always something - I don't know - not that I think it is the wrong religion, but some of their rules to me were man-made rules uhich I dirln 't agree with. I'll take from the Bible, I'll accept it but from another man, it'sllike I read from some of today's books. Sure it is a beautiful story but it is still a man's stOT'IJ. There was aCatholic church over there but they had a priest only sometimes and then sma.11 group of people like that who are poor, no matter hou honest you are, you are always the little one. There were always the ones better off who we had to look up to and I resented that very much. Myself, I believe in equal rights. �5 Q. Do you believe equal rights for not only classes but from the standpoint of A. men and women? Yes, and no. I like to be independant from men, I'll admit - I don't like men to boss me around. They're not going to tell me what to do - I know what I have to do and I'll do it. And if I know I can't do something, I'll say I can't do it or I don't care to do it. I don't like to ~e pushed around. I think I am a queer woman sometimes, but ... I have been fortunate and I am at this time, one of the most fortunate senior women that is living I am sure. Q. A. Why? How do you see yourself fortunate? I look at all of the wonderful things there are in this world. I have the nicest friends and it is not because they are poor women like me - as far as money is concerned they are far better off than I am. They have the ed- Q. ucation that I don't have. I never learned English at school myself. Did you find it a problem when you moved to Manitoba, not speaking English? A. I was born in Manitoba and I was raised on a bush farm. enjoyed it but I don't think my mother liked it too much. money was as scarce as it has been for us now and then. Of course, us kids In those days We were fortunate that my mother was a school teacher, so she taught school there. Not through the government like they do today, she did it for the sake of the children and she liked to help out. That is how come we got out French but we didn't have English - she knew English but those Frenchmen - you had to be so French and it is drilled into us to be French and we are. - When I left home to go and work I found it difficult and I was lonesome and I was amongst Englishspeaking people, but I was determined to work and to make my living. Q. Did you encounter discrimination in your wages or in your positions because you were a woman? A. I don't think so. Q. A. For instance, the differences in paychecks? Oh, yes. Q. Was it a great deal or was it just a little bit? A. It was not that much - of course with the work I was doing, I was not a professional and I was just cooking. a man does. Maybe us women get away with more than Q. What do we get away with? A. Let's say a crew of men that you are cooking for will expect more from the man than they woul d expect from the woman. �In time they might cat er to us and to take too, to what the cook will say. Q, A. Q. A. That is important in a bu;3h camp,ci It was not in a bush camp, I never cooked in a bush camp, just in the hospital and the railroad. How did you feel after p~tting so much of this tremendous energy into giving the children the best that you could possibly give? After they erew up, how did you feel when they were gone? I was happy. They turned out to be good women, every one of them. They are all living, I got my eight girls and they are all living, and they all finished something and they are all able to keep themselves above board and better off tha.n I ever was. I am alright now, I have got plenty to eat and I don't have to worry, I don't have a palace but I like it - I like old things, I am old and I like old things. I am happy with my girls, they are all good to me. Q. So, your family hasn't left you, they are still around. A. Oh, yes, they are all here and generous and so are my son-in-laws .. Q. So it was an accomplishment to you? A. Yes. And you found all the effort was worth it? Q. A. Q. A. Yes, I'm repaid for it. It must be very gratifying. Yes, of course there is religion involved too. I guess I preach sometimes too because some of my girls are ver-J close to religion too, some are not so close and their husbands too. But they are all good men, that is One thing I am thankful for. When I hear somebody say something about mother-in-laws, I don't like that. I have no difficulties with my son-in-laws - why do others have difficulty? I don't Imow. What more do I want in life? Right now I couldn't ask for any better - I don't: live in luxury but I like it. I keep my house as clean as I can and of course I am busy. Q, Do you feel that when you had this large family, did you feel like a pioneer? A. No.I tried to get to the top, that is all. Q. And this was a place to do it? A. Really what I had in mind was the future of my girls and I wanted them to have better than what I had, at any cost. time, no sacrifices. I wouldn't back up on no work, no I would have done without shoes or stockings, or any- �1Q. A. Q. A. thing to let them have it so they could go on. It is nice that all of your girls grew up well and they still come and see you and you a.re vecy happy with them. You mentioned about being French and how you loved being French. So what I go for that I believ e in is to lea:rn to speak it well, use the proper words and your proper grammar. So you don't like the Quebecoisi.J;c.,.\e<..~ 1~ Not too much. When we were small a funny thing happened. There were some Quebecois but the kids were always tormenting us because we were French Belgian, you see, my father was from Belgium. They kept hounding us and calling us "The Belgians" or something like that and at one point we went to Mama and asked her why they kept calling us that name. We were proud to be French Belgians you Imow. You see, my father's parents were from France and they had to imigrate to Belgium after or I think before my father's time. My mother just said "Call them Green Canadians" and of course we went out Q. A. like a shot and if after they said anything about our being French Belgian, - I don't know why we resented being called that because that is what we were - of course we called them Green Canadians. Did you find that this pride was a spiritual need in you? No, I think it is more the French feeling - and old country French - and that is home and country. You die for your country - you lay down your life for your country first of all - and I think that is what it was. Although my mother was a Canadian born and my father was old country French and their mother was from the U.S.. My mother never really talked that way to us, but of course we had old count:ry French people too and then our relatives were all older than my father was and without hestitation you lay down your life for your countcy and your flag was .. that's it. Q. Did you find any of these feelings lacking because you lived in these small communities in Northern Ontario? A. Q. You mean lacking in me or in other people? From your sur-.coundings . A. Yes. . .......... Nobody has the same interests. Maybe they would if they were in another country. I don't think people really talk about it or are interested the same as we were. Because most of the people of my father's generation were from the old country and that is what makes the difference and maybe �t r:. ~lk.r c...; '"1"?.\"'\J;~ if I were in another country myself it would make a difference. A •••••• And that is the only kind of wood she had in the winter time and she had only a cook stove. She had to keep on making fire all night long in order not to be cold because the little boy was not very old and the little girl either. So my kids found out on the way to school that they stopped so we went to see her and she told us_she had been up all night making the fire. her to come over I told and they stayed with us until I don't know what happened. Until she had something else to help her but the wages were all the men could get at that time Q. - was five dollars a month on the highway. Do you wish there had been more co-operation between the women in these communities or do you think there was a great deal of co-operation? A. I think the co-operation was as good as it could be, considering the conditions. If you have no work, what can you do? Iffyou don't earn any money - I know, I went through that after the First World War - you just can't do nothing. What can you do? You are raising children, poor little babies and you give them all you can and you are just barley living yourself. could tell you a true story. I When I just had Jean and Madelaine - that- spring was before my husband went to Kashobowie, he was out of work all winter long. As careful as I was to try to have something to eat, and all we had was bread and p:o:vrid.ge and brown sugar. And then came springtime so my husband left to go to Kashabowie for work there which was supposed to be a steady job which he gladly took, and then I didn't want to spend any more ~ money than I had to. When it came to the last of the brmm sugar I just cave them to my two little kids and I did without it with the porridge. That last month I wanted to spend as little as I could. That were the sac- rifices we did during the Depression along with so many other people. sure I was not the only one. Some were more fortunate of course - those that were established you know. thing. I am But when you just start, you start with no- It is just like a business, you start a business on small money. You do it but you have got to be careful and know that you get no wages for yourself and it takes time before you have enough to call your own. Q. A. Did you have any time fo:r yourself at all? With 8 children in less than 14 years? No. ·-"": and I washed diapers for 8 children on the board. on the board. \ I did my sewing, I did my knitting I washed for ten - e &us �Q. Did you ever think sometimes that you couldn't stand it any more? A. I felt there would never be · an end to it sometimes. I saw other people it was or-ay, it boosted me up. Not aJ.l the time, if If I didn't see people every week, or if I couldn't go to church - that is why I went to the United Church actually, that is what took me over there because by going there every week it gave me a boost. Q. What was the longest period you went without seeing anybody? A. I don't know, weeks or a month. Q. What did you do? A. In a place like that, you've got to carry water in to cook , to wash, to wash That must be very very depressing. I your floor, to wash your children, to do the washing, to do everything. is a lot of water to carry, and that takes a lot of us. That There is wood to be carried in, there is ashes to take out, there is water to take out, there a clothesline uas never· too close to a house as a rule. bread once or twic~ a week for that many people. You hawe to make You had to go and dig your potatoes if you had them, you have to go and work your garden .. You have to sew, in those days we patched, not like today. We patched clothes in those days so it was Monday; wash, Tuesday you did the ironing that we don't do today; Wednesday you mended and you mended socks until you couldn't mend them any more. You patched and sewed buttons. So you wash your dishes you wash the little faces, the little hands,put them back to bed and the next morning you ihook the covers and you made the beds again and you feed them and all that and you are busy. There comes a time when you want -t o see someone from outside. a Q.. You just have to get away for little while. A. Yes, you have to otherwise you uould just - you get so lonesome, you fe·e1 there will never be an end to it. It is as if you were caught in a trap. Q. So you did feel trapped sometimes? A. Yes, I did. If I saw somebody taJ.k to somebody, I was up again. I could break loose. As long as Break from the burden of the family where I was tied down and I i-ron 't leave them, they were my children and I stood by them at aJ.l times until they were about 18. There was joy and a lot of sorrow and dis- appointment. Q. Can you tell me about that? Hhat would make you particularly happy, aside from seein6 your children grow up happy and intelligent? �,o A. To Imow that your children are away and you see that they are going to do well for themselves. They grow up to be honest women. Uhat more do you uant? Q. A. That was completely fulfilling for you? Yes. What more could I wish :for? pies - they were reserved. Q. They choose good men, they were not .hip- They choose their company also. _ Do you believe there has been a positive change for women's roles in this ~ community, for say, your daughter? A. I think so. They are freer. In my time, women had to be so careful not to look sideways - you' re talked about - or you don't have to do nothing but'. people will think something. You didn't dress like I am dressed now. matter hoH hot it was you had to have stockings on. free - they are so lucky. Q. No Today the women are so Oh, if I had the chance that the girls have today. If you did have the chance to be my age, what do you think you would like-to do? A. I would travel and I would go for mission work. Q. Hhy mission work? A. To help the less fortunate. Q. So, you like_giving things. A. Right now, I bet you I am the only person who does what I am doing right ·:.1 now. Q. A. What are you doing? Of course I work with the hospitals, I donate good things, new things or almost new things. Sometimes they have too much and what can they do with that but pack those good clothes and have them burnt. should make quilts for the poor with that. six quilts. One day I said we So far this year I have made All it costs me is just 2 or 3 dollars to make and if I have quite a few on hand sometimes and if I sell them I usually turn the money over to the hospital. Q. So you would like to do missionaI'J Hork in Canada? A. Abroad. Q. Any cot1ntry in particualar? A. In the days when I just would have loved to go to school, I would have went to China. Q. I hav~ been to China . .fl A. Have you? Ue have a Chinese girl here. I would do the work here, but as:"l ong as I help somebody less fortunate than I am. I don't like to give to people �uho can afford to buy. Somebody that needs it, regardless of colour or' creed. Q. Do you think that you got this attitude because of your childhood - of giving and sharing and hard work? A. No, I think it was more the Depression. In the Depression after World War I, we were not the only ones who were hard hit. It is like when we were small we went on that bush farm - there were other settlers also- but I don't think they were much better off than we were. Q. Do you think that your mother taught you a lot of things that were valuable Hhen you had a family? A. I was not close enough to her. Q. You wish you had learned more you mean? A. No. I wanted to: .look out for myself, I was a bit independant. told that many times and I believe it now. Q. I have been --What You must remember the time that they brought in the vote for women? did you think about that? A. I think it uas good. the work. Why shouldn't we have anything to say, we do half I believe it is right. think what the, what it is. •r hey don't care. I don't think the men really stop and If they vote, they just vote and that is it. And I guess some women too. When I vote, I vote for that man because I think he will do something . Q. You wouldn't like to get deeper involved in politics though? A. Not now, I would have once upon a time. Q. What did you wish to achieve? A. I would have liked to have been up there and give them my opionion on some ___.--, things. Q. ~Then was this? A. Durine; Depression time . In the 1930 's. It was a time when my girls were studying to go to high school and they had to write exams. ll ell, we had to pay for that - that one dollar meant so much, and of course I d:ldn 't like that. I thought some of my girls would be school teachers but they got into anything else but teaching. Q. Did you teach them to be independant and stand on their ,os.m two feet rather than depend on someone? A. I must have because they are all independant. Some of them, my goodness. The same with me, the smaller ones are so spunky. that they are all honest women. Uhat I am happy about is And they are all hard workers. When they �do something they do it well, they work better than I do • .Q. A. Q. Well, you must have taught them something. I guess I started them, but, it is like if they are knitting or crocheting, it has to be perfect when they do it. Is there anything that you would like to see done within your society? Anything about people's rights that you would like to work for? For instance the Women's Movement? A. Q. A. I don ' t Jmow. Other than missionariJ work, and you do do a lot of work for the hospital. Uhat I regret, maybe in a larger center it was like that a long time ago although I uas young then, but if it was, if such situations existed, then I don't know, I wasn't in the gang. I regret so much - you see some young people with all their lives ahead of them with nothing to do. I have tried because sometimes I had to help some of the women with a group of girls to do something in their clubnork, and they have nothing to do. I say that they should learn to sew, and that I would show them if they wanted. If someone wants to learn, I'm right there - or knit. But they don't seem to be interested. And it seems to me, at least with my sisters, and cousins, we had something that we were working at. we even had work we could do. At noon hour and recess at school We were at it and we were so ambitious and tta t was the case with everyone, but you don't see that today. And another thing you notice at school, I don't say everyone is like that but that is what. I saw, when they learn their sewing at school, they put something crooked or something wrong, they don't want to undo it and start over again. Undo it and start over again and then it will be well done. If I had been a teacher I would have been too strict I guess - I would have expected too much. Q. It is a hard life and I don't think you can train people too much to go out and face what goes on in the irnrld. A. And then, it seems to me that we were so busy when we were that age and I Q. don't think that the kids have that today. We had a group of girls for a couple of years, that the school sent to us if we wanted them. llho is "we", what organization is this? A. The school teachers. In a way they were to do some work for us. waited for the day they were allowed to come out to do our work. So we Try to see �.·,. . --·· ;, if you can ma;ke them do it. You show them how to go about it, and that is the way I want it to be done and that is the way it is supposed to be done. No way they would do it. That wasn't the way they did it. They want to do what they want and not what we want. When I went to work and I learned when we worked, we do what our mistress wanted us to do, they wanted it done that way and that was it. They don't always send the same girls and we must have had 8 or 10 girls, and if 2 from that 8 or 10 was willing to do the work, that was about it. teach. Q. A. Q. A. The kids don ' t like to learn, they want to Ihlearned that a long time ago - don ' t tell me you know how to work better than I do. I asked you what you would like to do if you were my age, you are obviously very active - what do you plan on continuing? As long as I can. You just want to keep doing. I hope so. I had one of my aunts from Belgium, She stayed all alone until she was '90 and that was in the country were there is no convenience - carry the water in, carry the ashes out - and she stayed by herself until she was And thn I guess came the time that she couldn't do anything else ..... . You just shoned us what you are doing, the beautiful quilts and knitting 90. Q. and . ... A. And my scrapbooks. Q, You have scrapbooks too? So you like to stay on top of things. In one of my books that I have, I have the first stamp of the hospital when A, there were only two rooms. Tha.nk--you Mrs. Peltier. I like. all history like that. � https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/d7078ae188dc5963689e890f8f82c25f.pdf 7654ee5ca4b41e0f85e235b9659c7584 PDF Text Text MRS. PELLETIER-Atikokan Mrs. Pelletier will be 79 in December 1975. She has lived in Winnipeg, Emo and Atikokan. She has eight children and has also raised two grandchildren. She is a deeply religious person, now she has four dogs and says she is very good at playing cribbage she has played since 1949. She would have liked to have more for her children when they were growing up, she said she was like the Old Woman In Th I Shoe, her children were always clean and ~ e never in rags. She always washed and ironed and patched all their clothes. In those days if you had to manage on seventy dollars a month you did. They paid $800 for their house and paid $20 a month with- out interest and of course she had her garden. nothing to anybody. Today she owes Inflation doesn't affect her to much, she says she is careful with her money and is used to hard times. She said as long as her children were fed and were comfortable it 4idn't bother her. She thinks you have to live from day to day and make the best of it, you've got to be willing and accep it. Her husband was different from her she was very outgoing he didn't like it but when she wanted to go out she did her work at home and slipped out. He never stopped her from going out. If she had to do it over again she said she would never live like this, she would have travelled or taught. had it rough and cried a lot but stuck it out. Shes had She never had t the pill so the babies kept coming and coming and she never had one of her children in the hospital. . �MRS PELLETIER ATIKOKAN old in December Mrs. Pelletier will Religion Mrs. Pelletier a de eply religious person states "So many things of course we think about it, no m~tter how we are r aised ............... . .................. some belief of our own even if wed 't about it or discuss it wj JJ:i nobody eJ se 01 1r f .lith grows to be ia such a wa ou k ow You believe and I believe and some things we don't believe and we think doesn't make sense and so·on. And it was like that with me, but I'm against certain things. If it's supoosed to be that way OK let it be, don't matter to me but, don't make sense to me so I let it go over my head." Mrs. Pelletier makes reference to a recent stay at Avila Center which she enjoyed. Dogs t Mrs. Pelletier has 4 dogs in the house, ..................... " My Baby sleeps beside me." Cri at it but I can handle On her pioneer life What I hated most was to wash his jeans and iron them and patch them, It had to be done, my dear lady, we WJuld have been in r~gs and it's something that no matter how little I had and how many children, ) ; ke the OJ d vyPWiU1,.__i_n ~ll.oe,_.my child-r.-.en ne~.r: -went with soi Jed cJ otbes. : the· -.....--=~=~,~...;..,;,c~- da but at ni In those days -=-~=-=!""'!!llli~~ be ironed, nobody went out with clothes that wasn't ---~:--did and you know some women Often wondered hov,1 I done it but it h;;id to be done. They wondered how I baked. My husb 1nd was working and I had to bake something for for his lunch that was better and of course with the children I had to. Pies maybe for Sunday. :.::.::..;:;.c....,....::.:.;;;~~::-,,r...;..;....~..__-= __,~ . _ _ �Question "Were .YAU eyer reaJ ly Pnbaooy wi r,b yo 11 t 1 ; fe?" Answer " I would h ave liked more for the sake of my children, I always wanted something. I would h ave liked enough money, but when I needed it, I ne~ded to buy a pair of shoes I could go and buy it, but I always had to wait, sometimes 'till pay day, 15 days maybe sometimes a month before I could go buy the pair of shoes and I hated like heck to go to the store and say "Well, could you wait 'till next payday so we c 3.n pay for th3.t pair of shoes." ••····•··•••·•··•····•••·•···••••··••····I suppose everybody was hard up but they and 2 children. Oh it was 40 below that morning, so cold so after my breakfast ............................. "She had been up all night just making fires, she had ~nly dry poplar wood to make fires, it's a fire that don't last and no heat. She had been up all night just keeping the fires, so cold. So I took them all in, her and her 2 little children and I kept them a couple of days." Question "Could Answer "When you h ad t~. you d~." Question nn· d OU h ave to ? n ~~.....:.i..~~----~~l\'g-~~==t:~~~~ Answer "We aid $20.00 a month on the house We pought it fqr $$QQ QO but they made it e asy. We f.).aid $20.00 and no interest. ..Q.f -uCPwc.s we h~d our arden too ~mprJ1-i o J;_bo.se...da.µ, 6 Packa es of seeds for 25¢ • ..... .... .... ... ........ ..... ..... ........ ... . ..... ..... ......... You have to do it. When you think exactly what you need. With my pension I live good, keep somebody, give them a cup of tea, what you like to do. Each day I'm above board, I owe nobody nothing, I want something extra ....... and I h ave still something in my pocket �QUESTION ?fl "Do y:ou find infl Answer " Not me personally, guess because I'm careful, I'm used to hard times. It's the best time in my life, the easiest time, because when I have my little babies as long as they were fed, dressed and I Know they were confortable, nothing mattered to me. _It didn't matter if I had one dress to wear. I'd take if off a night, wash it at night, let it dry through t ~e night and put it on the next morning, it didn't matter to me. I would h ave liked to have more, but as long as my baby was comfortable. . ....................... . Sometimes I felt there was not enough to go around, but I got something that had to be got. My husband was working outside, he h d to have clothes that wqs wann. It was far more expensive to dress him up th an anyone else. There was a few things that my mother gave me or my sister . gave me, I could always cut it to make a little dress for my girls ••..........•............. "knitted mitts, knitted sox and scarves for my 8 children, I don't know how I done it but I never stopped .. ... .. ... ... . . . . .. . .... . ........... ..... .. ...... .. ....... .. .. ....... "I t hink you have to live from d ay to day and you got to be willing to accept what comes and make the best of it." "We li veei in a small town, Emo. something for t h eir future" husband was not Ques tion "M ny gµ are All my girls h ad to leave home to learn mix.!~.,• ~ox t..ake p art-.in SQmething. a yer.,,._.r,.:~~~~~~a1:::ld!:'-" Answer "Yes I am. I'm the o oosite" Question nn•ct OU ou?" "Yes" "How did :t_OU live with it" '~0h you "Was he unhap py b~cause yqu were gute;ging?" Answer "Oh he was but for me to live out like . t .tlgt wbe,,q not that I leave to be done, when I see t~at it's done then I sli commi t _tee work. ---- �Question"Was your husband eyer mean to you becau se you went apt?" Answer "Oh he told me a oi ece of his mind." Que ~tion "He di dn' t s to 0 •..ro u from Answer "No I was too detennined • . .. ... .. ... . . . . ........ .. .. .. "My self ad -the chance • n life believe me I would have done nothin like I did do. I wouldn't h ~ve lived this,~.~~;~~~~~~been tre.vellin te '::. chin and in mi e. sion work but I didn't have that chanc I just h ave public school, in f act I didn't leArn Eng just picked uo EnglisJl: "I wish I could live another 10 years like I -=l_i _v___,.;:...,,......-;::;i,..... fun in that 10 years • ................. ... ... "I cut grass" (This was the first year she didn't dig the g Rrden twice a year herself) " t First it was hard." rt/ ou marr a man we think we know him but we don't. After we pa ere he's not the man that contract, he's you have some arguments too, I've shed tears and ha throu h h ard times. But I stuck tom ..... ........ .. Tbere was ·no_p_ill in that time and the b ~bies were coming just as fast as I could have them without all the ne The only time I was in the hospital sick in my life, not th at I felt good either, it was when I h ad a broken kne6w about 9 years ago. Question nyou never e bos.p-;Lt al?" Answer I won't know what to ex ect to ed home " "0 I think I neeaed those 10 days. �\ to sur:no~t ?. / \ ~- \J \ t I ~::..., l'l ·• doctJr in ful.l, 2.mi 1,-;ouJ..J -r.er:d assistance ir. sh·: ,•:[1.._- of ,1e ar<J situated on the Ct-: 11adlan iJatiom.1.l :(aih.,ra:,:s, the f j rst t9r:nln:1l '>'lest of i-'ort Art\rnr and hd.ve a large number of railway men runnini~ into this villag~ llncl 0ul te a nwnb~r of ernnloyeP.s in thr:' loca.l yards a;1d s!10ps. uur nearest doctor to t!1e east is located at i· ort .:1.rt . .1u', lL/' miles &.way, and to the west at Fort .r'rances, 90 ;n_~les dista:1t. l}.n· c•::ly rn-:: ar..; of trans Portation is a tri-weckly train service ,:.1.ch ·.,.r_..y. "e t1 ave !10 ~o.:..:.d::; or lligln-la:/s. in case of serio:1s illness we ·1us: Hn.i.t for two or t hr~-> iays or1 train service. de have created 0 oclr.>t:r rr.aintn.ins c1. J. small Red Cross Hc,spital nurs~. This would be an advantap;e __;i;rnP-d: .·:Lirk ,1hi teheaj ;~. Cho~/slwn :10 r~n-~I':' ."\. .:hn:..:s ,(. i-'arad.i.s ,., . u • Connell Glc.,:·"'nc~ Jefff!cy ; . 0hrdepuik J • tlcCutclleon °:,J.C. s.~. Gordon Sameron C. Gliver H. Ra.suck ·.--J .J. HcKonne;r ~. ~oy~o J. riaffyGlrnk !~. Sandalowich f·:eN~ t,.1 \·.rLer~ t!1 ,., a doctor. :•.l~~- ; v;;ter }'.. ~l;:iba F.t. 1-loore :...d.anta it. Jrni th Hi.~e Looa F. Au·r>cy A. Albert T .. :JF~d:1arsk:i U. 3krinsid. v.A. Otto. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Herstory Project Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Herstory: Grace Pelletier Subject The topic of the resource People Women's History Description An account of the resource Oral history interview with Grace Pelletier of Atikokan. Interview performed by Helen Lovekin, October 15 1975, as part of the Women's Decade Council Herstory project. The recording consists of two sides of a cassette tape, available here as two MP3 files. (Click on the speaker logo to play each file.) The transcript is available by clicking on the image thumbnails. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975-10-15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Release form was obtained by the Herstory project, allowing the recording to be shared and used. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Audio Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Atikokan Canada - Ontario - Emo Canada - Ontario - Kashabowie https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/dbd9f7654e23589b1391af4c2f2355cb.mp3 d0fbea1fa429f42bd0aa3d367c6988bb https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/af859eb01913e169fa0d4d2aa1312c25.mp3 edc72996619376e70addd6a0f0d530f1 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/3eaa8a6235fe57fbc4d488e1eb849729.mp3 b0e4f06bd4050bfb2fdf6f75979cde65 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/c032fea0855f4d81c3b59d9a4ef3eef9.mp3 3707aaed138524bc0a81d915abb73875 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/58cb742b6db3bc67d1c7fe638f05929b.pdf 815399a90a0a8a7471dc9c2e3b018bb6 PDF Text Text /)Jo. ~~ ~~/4 ., /}fl~ ~~ ~ ~~v ~ - :;;~ ~~-~p 2:{) ,~()/t/3-t ,I read your bookletoon Silver Islet history and you indicate on !" 'µ\,, ,~ . VQ IM..i...... the label set but I don't want to leave XH anything in that area but what I would like to do is to go back into your own life in the early ~ part of your childhood and talk about as you remember growing up, ~hat i~ ~our personal life story. -A Well among the first things that I remember of course living in Port Arthur, there were board sidewalks all over the place. I imagine they were made of good white pine planks, all over the place, there was no cement at all, and there were cracks and if you happen to drop a nickmm or a penny why you could see them through the light of the crack but then it was to get an older brother with a not~s ~itx and get it out. p= a pick or something to hook up this plank, you see, It was quite something that all the young people did as they walked along to see if there be a glint, and if there were xexx why then finders xsssexs is keepin you see, aM ~f course there was just one public school. Now the first public school mind you there were two or more that were run by xke just Miss somebody or other that would gather a group of children but finally there was a school set up and was two rooms and it was divided, I don't know ex~~ii¥ what grades went into which rooms but anyway that's all there was. Q. What year was this? A. It was before my time because that school is now a double house or else four suites next to the Baptist Church in Port Arthur, but when it got too small then a front was put on and that's the front of the Central School over in Port Arthur up on by Gore Park. Well then when the ... and the two rooms were at the back of it joined on and when that became too small th~setwo rooms were moved over by the back of the church somebody bought it and made into two or four suites or a double house and then the �present addition I think 8 rooms was put on the back of it and that was the only school there except the Catholic school. Well then about 65 years or more ago there was a new Methodist church being built which is Trinity and the old church was moved down the hill and down Bay Street now Algoma Street to where Secord School is and it made two rooms and that was the first school, what do you call those schools not the central school (primary) anyway it was the first school other than the central school in the city and everybody,everybody had to go to Central school first and then the people that crowded in and built up the south end of Street Port Arthur had this Secord/School to go to. Then I think the next school that was built St. James Street school way down Court Street. Q. Of all first, Thunder Bay North, Port Arthur, preceded Fort William development? A. Oh no, Port Arthur was or Fort William was first, it was the fourth. xxxsx Q. What we call the East end now must have developed then was what was called Fort William then, near the old Fort? A. Yes, that's why down in the East End there are McLaughlin Street, McTavish and all those Scots names, named after the Hudson Bay men, the whole place most of it has Scots names because most of the Hudson Bay men were Scots. Port Arthur you walked to school of course. then, in what area? In Q. Where was your home A. Well the first home was at this end of Court Street before Bay, there was nothing from Bay Street on (just wilderness) Yes, just wilderness, just swamp, cranberries. Q. Even in the 40's when Jix moved up here that was still swamp Intercity was largely swamp there? A. Oh yes, well you see in prehistoric time this was a great bay than rairup as far as XR&HEekH Kakebeka Falls and then they claim that there was a Afpping and the water drained here and piled up over on the south shore of Lake Superior but however, it drained out and only wiggling Kaministiqua �River was left to drain it and x it was all swamp right from the height of land at Port Arthur to the mountain, it was all swamp and they declared they could never build a town or a city here because it was, they called it"Frog Town" it was full of frogs, it was a real swamp. lands and of Well they started in to build course the draining just kept on in some part down in the coal dock they pumped the sewage and the ... Q. All of waste that has to be A. Up and out you see EHRKHSe but of pumped because of course Port Arthur is on the hillside so they had to around as well there but Port Arthur was wooden sidewalks and mud or gravel ~ or earth t.hrowed. Q. When you were very young some of the 11e1x very well established society in the Lakehead Thunder Bay was very elegant in comparison to the outliffing areas? A. Well you see all the settlers came from the east and most-of them came from good homes down there and they E~H~ brought some very nice furniture with them and as they could they built their own homes. At first there was just the peek-through wooden houses everywhere 7well then nice homes were built on what they called the Court Street ridge that is from made by the hillside there and the Court Street and very nice homes were there. It was many, many years afterwards, I IVl. {,U-u,(~ suppose, ~ow 60 years or so, when they began to build up in Maragay and those parts they were operft-y men that would buy great space and of course up in Mar~y it was swampy~ it was a great blueberryppatch up there. Q. This area here out in McIntyre River and out towards Chippewa Park was designed to develop originally as the in? ~ area of the Twin Cities. Industry has crept A. I guess those sections outs there were finally left to the mosquitoes and roads and they had to think of the centre of the little town or village because after-all the stores were there. d �So they just kept building houses. Q. Yet there were streetcar tracks moving out to Chippewa Park and streetcar tracks right ijtx~ 0 Rosslyn? A. Well the idea was that they would take them out to Rosslyn and you know that bridge that goes xx~kx over the Kam River has an upper structure. y ou drive through in the lower part, well that was built meaning to have the streetcars go right out through there the and if the top deck is on a level with/hills on each side. There was to be a high level xa ~ and go over the bridge right through and span the immediate valley but then trucks came in and the farmers didn't need the/railway to BHiX~ bring their produce in and in fact there wasn't such a tremendous population to encourage large farms with the selling of produce in the town, ...s.Q i understand it .tfo be ~laced before very long but that bridge must be oh I suppose that's 70 years old or more. Q. There's a story that a woman designed the first bridge across the Kam River~ so far its only a myth, I haven't been able to track it down? A. No, I couldn't tell you of that. Near that bridge, the first bridge that went across and into Flint River Valley and all was there. You turned lQ~scorner and go across the bttdge and you went straight on and it was a level on a river level bridge. Q. Bigger families ~ llectio~ ~J here's ~ I ) -- ~ - - U ~ IJ..R.Arff)-4p i ct ure S of 80for 9~t.Q Oeta5ie 1golhg to Silver Islet for Sunday picnic and very elegant thing5 ~~each other packed and so on. ever a part of the excursion for Sunday afternoon? Were you A. No, we strictly went to church and Sunday school, we wouldn't go on excursions on Sunday but when we first were out there, Capt. Malloney xaxke~ would leave the Port Arthur dock at 10:00 on Saturday night and the men would scramble to be shut up their stores and get it, and XHB¥X tgen they would reach Silver Islet by midnight and the wives would meet them there, and help them carry home the basket of fresh meat and so forth. The men would stay then until 8:00 o'clock Sunday night ~ the �tugs would leave and get into town around 10:00 o'clock Sunday night. It was oh some time after that I suppose what 65 years ago anyway it became a grand spot, Silver Islet. It was theonly place where there was a dock ax decent dock and there was no highway, no #17 I either way, you couldn't get out of town except by water and so these sailing boats w~re old boats that were bought down east and brought up here one at a t i m e - /44ien it was wrecked or scrapped another one would be bought. There were daily excursions Ji Silver Islet because that was the only place you could go and the old carpenter shop was fixed up and a hardwood floor put in it and they had dances and then for picnicing why they picniced all over the place whexerever they wanted to open their basket. picnic consist of in those days? Q. What sort of food would the A. potato salad, cabbage salad, but not any of the frillies pretty baking now-a-days, sandwiches, cake and pie in the original baking dishes. you have a bottle of wine? Q. Would A. Oh, I never heard of that, I suppose some of them might have, it wasn't the outside drinking that there is now. changed Q. Has the attitude xx~a towards d~I½ in Fort William in these past fifty years? IA,M/' A. Oh ~ea~ ~~,,(~ ya, you see in the olden days t h e r e ~ they tell a saloon on every corner of Cumberland Street, four corners and four saloons and right from Arthur Street down to well Pearl Street~•- cnrd"J:t was a different type of person that drank, drank abundantly, it was the men that came and worked in the bush and then they would come in and they would spend a good part if not all axx of their winter's earnings on just getting drunk, and what they haven't spent somebody would relieve them of. Oh it was terrible, and a lot of drunkeness but not educated people, not the kind now,well then when how many years ago, Lt-'1v7 ~alcohol was entirely outlawed and then it got to be considered smart to find a .-----blind keg or be able to sneak in and then the �/. ,. educated people they should have had more sense t ~ n'- 1' -.le 1,,. ~~ and it§ continued, I hear so many well educated people that could ,. be fine citizens and therjust alcoholics and the poor people, well I guess there's a good deal of drinking of there.& beer, but you don't hear so much about that, except in the way of crime0 J tk generally drinking RH~ that brin~s on the crime. So it would look as if were headxH~ed for many years that it would be outlawed again. In catalogues see all of the paraphanalia xf~ making wine and beer. b �J Q. A. Well the important point is love, but then people their own home have inner thoughts and in and they save the dining room, the living room has an arch way between where the is wooden why because of taste and some people had quite large living uh dining room. This is you know and across the hall from MRS there large I think a comedy thing and they would send to Toronto would have a first in those days and they would send I think it was coal that was food sent up by Train and coal into the cubic form and Mrs. Mccullen showed me a big form that just looked like a big piece of wood, but that's what she said it just was sent up the other way the coal would be boned at KxxkxaHa and separatea with a fontth meatand put a jelly in XH sthis form and have H some radishes and different things imbedded in the jelly and then they cook and then the whole this was xke a coal you see this was thin~ was sort of levelled itself and that's what turned up here by train and then the night of the diner party I suppose and it was turned out onto it would be dipped into a R plack oh huge one HHa no Houbt, and then Mxss Mr. i great there was no bone in it, and he would just slice right down and leave the outside room with jelly and be ice cream and 70 years ago. This was a terrific maid or maids maae/and others borrowed Then there would before cherries that's about and we had axxxs girl and they had all this cleared away and after the ice cream, and the �cake and the cheese cake, and pie oh the cooking would be tremendous Graham and then there's a dance. Well George Rxa~ now they and the McTabish were the leading socialites in Fort William and this George Graham's first home was down on the river like the McKellar home just way down here out straight down and they had lawns and a lovely that goes home ~xase down to the river and they had beautiful and they were very nice. When the~ the railway tracks were moved from down in the East end up here, all those houses were either raised or moved and her's was moved out to the corner of Archibald and Metcalfe? ? and on the south corner of Archibald and quite a large house well there's after he built everything on this side and he built a great big park and when the other of the old house there's a garden decorated with big parlour and then Peter had an office there interested and Died off and I was no longer xx he came down just a meeting about once a year or once every two years or so, and when he and there's all the papers were brought to me one time to digest and write but I was ill and I was ill for a long time but I happened for whatever I could be any worth on my bed the box could be geared over and Mr. Langley had brought so this here to skaH when I was so he took the one day when he was home and gave it to Bill Langley in his office. They had them kept in a trunk in the basement of the library, the old library, well it got to be oh not many years ago somebody wanted to know where those papers were, so I told them in the libaary. Well they hunted in the library and then thing.insi'd e out cou ld n I t f'in d t h e turned thexaaxxH~ trunk and in the mean time Mr. Langley had just died and one of I �daughters oh was I thrilled because I did my part xax~ex he ~~x gave them right back to me because he had brought thmmx to me and I couldn't tell John go xi~kx &Hgk find whoever had the key to this trunk and whoever finds xxwa ix the key I would do my part. Oh that's what happened. Well the older people those thatw were left, when those older people had joined to form what we call ..... they would alternate the meetings but would be very well attended because there xaliieae more people wka maxe« and there were some in Port Arthur really new comers although they were elderly and then they progressed to having a building and my mind simply thought well at xeHxx these meetings were over the library and this is why the ... and then you see these new people which was all revitalize the wanted to and do the museum and have about up and coming things was in my surprise I said would become of these Port Arthur people where very impressed, they outside and I said well my goodness are you going to do it? its wonderful to have some a~iside that are going to revitalize it, they didn't even sayH anything, however, but you see the end of these between these two towns, but of course they're one now but I mean in the west xi«e end isn't died off, it takes a generation of folks to die off. Mind you in the olden days it was a «ixxiii~x thing because they MaHx« were quite isolated in the winter, cut off, entirely isolated cut off still and they had good fights just tremendous fights that brought often HH« xkex any other day and this kept them alive. Q. weren't enough. A. Oh yes, because there Q. There wasn't enough A. Yes ae~HHXe if they want they could have it, you were �/0 in Port Arthur and they were very friendly, those people ? A. Yes, you see Q. Do things like that their grandfather came to Ontario when everything a long time ago to the land if you took the land and you were told that only mining was sss xke ~~xsxKHsx~~HXkKs KHSX~~HxkKsxx~ x~ took a fold and you had to hope cariboo and also to the California gold and therefore be something a miner and you just sent by the Allie Mining Co. who their representative here and they kKs have prospectors all through the bush. I would expect there would be a thousand prospectors all through the bush, mind you it would be so many miles out where they were and I suppose they were out about xke all the substance where they win but .... Q. A. Yes, maybe forty years ago, a long time ago, ... Q. Would A. Well they, yes, that was established by a :f:xxm called a i~~, they had six xliii and the grandmother and he and my aunt they then had six sons KHs, then there was and/they had three daughters. Then grandmother and grandfather and the girls at that why the sons were all fixed with tradeaown east machinist and father was a IIXKHSX and they weren't just ordinary tradesmen time were they were really sHpex supper, I guess all of them had two trades before they were a handyman. , and of course in those days you were There was a University in Toronto father wanted to us and back home there was what we found in Toronto. So father from and my mother and brothers like a another one has a foundry now and also coal mine next to the one �II who has a foundry and something else, and the oldest brother has something call RH~ end of an old building ~ln'.HXXH not an archway, oh my goodness that was very long ago, but only he would he would be back and also with a potter maker and that's very still Well they had all these things, the brothers, and m¥ grandmother thought that this was going to be arain city • a ~xeax an d t h ere way you h a d to come h ere an d th e west wou ld come here and they coming into this they would set now but she just told the boys up and they would all go inx~ =together, so the day came when they guilt the Port Arthur Iron Ore all under one roof, and they were BR ? and it was A. The year, well 92 years ago, 1873, and father was married/before Eva lffRthe first child was born so he stayed down east and he knew the Q. What year did Indians? He bought them food and came up in July of that year and the Crothers had been here putting up buildings. there~was The CPR was coming through and it was going through RR ~x~ no foundry between Toronto and Winnipeg and there was so many being done so father would that they would be working night and day to settp the and get the He had this xi~ little engine that they had set up a boiler to give them the power to run the little engine, it would run all over in the machine shop. to put up a Now in the foundry they had and all kinds of things there and in the blacksmith's shop fordge and all this. Well iMewas the machine shop that was taking xkeixx~x~exs the longest and they were trying to get this boiler to get it started but in the meantime . as it was hard for them to get the material so they set them up XR a line and if you know anything about a steam shaft why they or electricaR~&they had a ~zezz¥ great �overhead and they had leather belts over those between downhill heal on their and they would sew the machine belt,,would be to turn the machine this rubber thing would be on. and and then he put extended So they set them up and he put a great big candle and would .... the long enough for two or three men to stand, but those men could and turn it was a the handle of this forget the word, anyway they came back then they could release the strap came on from a small wheel to a large wheel the large whe~l and then back again and they could turn, I don't know how many men, they could turn the and then before you have the boilerJ~He engine boiler they then you have the cooler working and then ¥~H would matter i~rkx~most of the night to fill th e then r-X ~-xH /boiler and that was no easy they got the little engine going and its a kooky engine but you and but it was an old man who know the staff/they were well would start as long as I could remember but it was a grave price so much noise, so much going on after shop blacksmith/ around school there were always boys who town that would need men well the blacksmith would RH ask him to help with the fordge you know this sort of A. Yes, and X Q. KR I ix was awful after school and on Saturdays this nice old boy and I found out that he was one of the men he worked I guess he kept track of everything and like the handyman � https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/d879455e6691b905a588f780a4c40db1.pdf b8d9aa7b2c6d2f103b99d16600f8879b PDF Text Text .·, 1 MRS. GER~RUDE DYKE~-Norah Street The first thing she remenbers is living in Port Arthur and that there were board sidewalks all over. She thinks they were made of white pine planks, there w s no cement at all. The boards had cracks in them and for fun they used to try and get money that was dropped between the cracks out they used pliers or a pie or anything to hook the board so the \ 0 could get the money out. There was just one public school and she doesn't know the date this was. It had just two roans and they were divided. It is now a do 1ble house next to the Baptist Ghurch in Port Arthur, this is the ori r. inal building they did build on to it and it is now the front of the Central School near Gore Park. About 65 years a g o there was~ new Metho ~ist Church being built and the dld one wa s moved down the hill and down Bay 0treet to where the Secord Schoo1 is and that was the first school besides the Central uchool, the next school was on St James Street. Port Arthur and Fort Nilliam were built fourth the first to be built up was the East End were l 1cLau ·· hlin and McTavish Streets are. The first home w·s at this end of Court Street before Bay from there on there was just wilderness. In the forties inter~ci ty was still swamp area. The} s~id they could never build anything on it, it was full of frogs and when the~ did try to build the sand just sunk and it dr2.ined. When people settled here they broucht t _e best furniture as they did come from good families ~own East. The nicehomes were built on Court Ridge and many ~, ears later they started to build in Mariday and it was swampy this was out towards Ghippewa Park this was suppose to be the residential area but industry crept in. When she was young she was never part of the e~cursion that went to Silver Islet for Sunday picnics. There was no hi 6 hway or any other way to get out of town so they had to use old boats that were sold down East and brought her~. The picnics used to consist of potato salad, cabbage salad, sandwiches, cakes and pie. In her day there was the usual drinking, there were four �saloons, and it was men that worked in the bush that used to drink all their wages up in one ni c ht of drinking. Ste said it was outlawed to drink and it wasn ' t educated people who drank then but she thinks there would be better people if they didn't all drink so much, crime wouldn't be as bad if there was no drinking. Around the year 1875 0PR was coming thro ugh. � https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/3f780398215efb8d448801dfa135afb2.pdf 4e8efdff911365f2c76e9e145e0d7dd5 PDF Text Text 7/ J..~ lI ✓ •! I ' I. \ HERSTORY PROJECT Mrs. G. Dyke interviewed by Helen Lovekin Mrs. Dyke: Q. Now what do you want to know about? First I would like to ask you some general questions and then some specific ones that we have come across in our research. How long have you been in Thunder Bay? A. All my life. Q. Uhat did your family do? A. My grandfather came 130 years ago and at that time his mail was addressed to Thunder Bay. I was born in Port Arthur. He came to Thunder Bay as representative of a mining company, he had gone to the California Gold Rush and to the Caribou (Canadian Gold Rush), so he knew quite a bit about minerals. His sons all lean1ed trades so four of therncombined and came to Port Arthur and built Woodside Iron ~1 orks. The company still exists in P.A. . It is 9.5 years ago, this July since my father and mother came because the boys stayed down east when their father and mother came he.:ie, and they learned their trades. Then there was the black- smith and the machinist and the pattern maker and one was a carriage maker an:i painter. They all seemed to have two trades and they were all master mech- anics in whatever they undertook. So their mother thought that the Lakehead would be the Chicago of the north, before there was any C.P.R. running through, So they came up - four of the six boys - to the Lakehead and with their father they built the first building and had that all ready and father was buying the machineT"J down east and making it because he made the first engine that was used in the shop, and it was 8.5 yars ago, the 19th of July. I don't remember dates but my oldest sister was 6 weeks old when they came up; they crossed the lake in a sidewheeler and one of father's oldest brothers was settled in Port Arthur and so they started up right away. inery in rie;ht away, as soon as it came up with father. ing towards P.A. 9.5 years ago bu£.\ is wasn't up to P.A.. and so they could cast iron things. I They put the mach- The C.P.R. uas buildThey hall a foundry The C.P.R. was desperately in need of foundry and ma<:!hine work sas well as blacksmiths. The blacksmith Hasn't so bad because you can move a blacksmith and a foree and an anvil, but you can't / �move a machine shop and a foundry. work at once. So they set it all up and commenced to Father was tryine; to get the boiler in place and get the engine so it would do the work and there is a shaft overhead. with the machines underneath and you pull a lever and the belt that is up top will turn the machine you are working on. This one shaft will turn all the machines, if there is two rous, then there are two rows of shafts. Well, father couldn't get it up at once and there was such a need for it that father put a great big iron thing which could fit 3 or 4 men and put it at the end of the shaft. These men turned the shaft by hand to run these different machines. Uhen one was winded he would step out and another would take his place - and they worked until all hours of the night because there was such a demand for their work. There was an old man in the shop and I remembered old Ned Hill and he was always kept on and when I knew him he was old but he had the job of just Imowing where everything was and he also turned the crank and a man that endured that, father kept him on. The other men had gone of their own free will but Ned had a family and he stayed. Woodside Iron Works. That was the beginning of There is really a great story of the beginning of the shop, when they had the place set up, men uere married and had their homes the brothers, and then there was grand.mother and there was the three girls that Here 13 yea.rs younger than the 6 boys. So there were a lot of women and they decided they would have a pink tea dmm at the shop to celebrate the opening. Q. What is a pink tea? A. It was called a pink tea in those days just for a little decoration I guess. But the women had pink teas at church - we say they had teas nowadays - wHl they added pink and gave it an air. So they had a pink tea, they brought cups and saucers and the baJdng and all arid the work stopped for a half hour and they had pink tea to celebrate. This brother who was in the other molding room or shop as was the case, had cast a horseshoe, a little horseshoe. There was a patten1 made of it in the pattern shop and then you put it in sand - you have to see a foundry to know how it's done. shoe for every woman there. And he cast a horse- As a child I remember that every kitchen had a horseshoe with a li ttl e bit of - not canvas but anyway, yuu put a piece of cloth on the back and you made this little pouch and it was a matchfolder. I don't know where our's went, I don't know if my brother keeps it or not. Anyuay, that was a souvenir of the opening of it and they had a lot of things �like that, and they a.re really a story nowadays. Q. Could you tell me a little bit about your education? A. In p. A. we had the Central School which was the only school in the whole city and then we had the high school which was the only school in the whole district. They came from Fort Frances a.rid Murillo if any of them wanted to - I don ' t remember that any of them did though - and Fort William and Westfort. They came to this four roomed high school. Q. Where i-ras it? A. It was where the gym is at the high school on the hill - P.A. C. I. Q. So they were quite close - the two schools. A. Yes and the high school was torn dmm and the big one built then, they added the gym. It was just four rooms and two teachers and finally they got a woman teacher which meant three. Q. Do you recall what yea.:r that was? A. I don 't Imow. Q. But you were at school at that time? A. Yes. Q. Did that cause any sensation? A. Of course most of the teachers were women but in the high school there had just been the two men always. That a woman was teaching? Then I think this woman was buffeted around by the two men but she stuck with it. from the east. Niss Achison was her name, she came We had a e;reat many teachers who came from around Sarnia because they could come direct by boat. Q. Has she a young woman when she came? A. She seemed young to me - she may have been JO. And I think she taught history and geography and the principal was a Scotchman who had taught boys ' school in Scotland and why he came out here, I don't know. Except that he drank once in a while. Q. Perhaps he was just another black sheep that was shipped off? A. I don ' t lmow, but he was a very superior teacher. The other man was l\'Ir. Morgan and he taught physics and chemistry but he had learned German and at the most unexpected time we would have a little lesson in German just when the principal wouldn't know anything about it. Everybody picked up a few German words. Q. So you feel you got a ue2..l rounded education? A. Yes - . and a great many Hent to Toronto University which was something. • It 1 �would take on the part of the teacher, a lot of real teaching to get them so ambitious as to go on. Q. Did you finish hieh school at all? A. In P. A . ? Q. Did they have Grade 13 at that time? A. T-J ell, Yes . they didn't have grades - in the public school it was the book - Junior and Senior 1,2,3 and 4 and then in high school, I guess it was the year, 1, 2 and Q. J. There was just the three years? Hm1 old would you be if you graduated each year you passed? A. I started school 1-1hen I was 4. My father was chairman of the Board of Educ- ation or a member of it, years and years. This time they were short one pupil to get the goverrrn1ent grant so they said, "Tom, you have lots of children, you can just spare one." Well, I Has tall and big for 4 and so I was sent to school and my aunt Ann, his sister, was the kindergarten teacher. And she taught up to the end ofthe first book I guess. So I was strorg and nell and I uas just 10 or 11 uhen I Has in high school and I got through high school and we had teachers college in P.A. Q. You became a teacher? A. Yes, for L~ yea.rs. 1h . So I went through that and when I graduated I wasn ' t quite And they couldn't Grant me a certificate, I was too young . Q. You had to lJe 21? A. You had to be 18, however they grru.1ted me a special dispensation and I went down east to mother ' s old hqme ru.1d taught there for a year. Q. ~Jhich town would this be? A, Out of l'ieai'ord, near Owen Sound. Then I came back and because they bad done this, allowing ne to teach, I was obliged to teach one year here, so I supplied in the different schools in P.A. -well, there was just the Central School. Then they built the south ward and I took the principals place, she was sick or uent on a trip and I think that was when I was 16 that principal of a south ward school. But I was 5' 10½" I .was so they didn't argue :'1ith me. a. Q. This was A. Yes. Q. A. Q. Because you went through teacher ' s college rather than normal school? secondary school? Yes - because they didn't have a normal school/ And you taught, married, raised your family - how did you become interested �in becoming an historian? ~: If you grew up here, naturally you saw it all happen so you couldn't ~elp but be interested. You might say I just stumbled onto it or grew into it. Q. It has become for you a career? A. No. Q. Do you look at it as more of a hobby? A. Hobby, yes. Goodness, I hadn ' t time. You raise a family - these women that work and raise a family are braver than I. Q. How many children did you have? A. ; I raised 3 children, but I had a lot of company. Q. Company with friends or with your children? A. Both, and relatives - we had relatives all the way from Halifax to Dawson City, and they all stayed on, on trips. Q. Hith both your career as a teacher and a historian, did you find any discrimination? You mentioned that Miss Achison had a bit of trouble with the men but you were able to hold your A. 01-m? Yes , but it was the first lady teach er and if any pupil had to stay aft er 4 she was delegated to stay too. Q. But you were the principal in the south ward - how many teachers were under you? A. Just one - of course don ' t mention that - I was principal at 16. That ' s why I was young when I was teaching, because I started at 4. Q. Was this a lady teacher as well? A. Yes. Q. You would have had no experience between wage differential? A. My goodness, I think the teacher got $32 a month or so. Q. Regardless of whether you were a man or a woman? A. No, I guess the men got more because they were the principals and sub-principals and they had families - they would have to have more - but $32 and $35, There were some of the girls that had a special permit and taught, that saved money and went on to university. Q. Was a teacher paid according to whether he was married or not? A. I think there was a set wage. Q. For a man or for a woman. A. Yes, but the man was al ways married and the woman wasn't. Q. This was before women were allowed to have a career after marriage. A. You didn ' t dream of anything after marriage, other than scrub bare floors and scrub clothes - you hadn't time for ... Q. No married ladies taught, even if they didn't have children? s �A. I don't think so. They didn't here anyways. There were widows - that was Q. different. As a historian, I have come across some of your works which are extremely competant and have you ever had any trouble with the - there is quite a few male historians about kn-ocking anything you might have to say. A. I have never had any trouble because whatever I wrote I had printed myself and they didn't consider me a full scale historian - I was just a woman that was writing down a few things. I don't know whether anybody wanted to have any trouble with me or not but I never did. Q. A. I wrote 3 booklets and I have the .. ........... . lfaat about the organizations and co-operation between women and their org- anizations? I really can't recall any dirty work, they seemed to have - well you can't say they have worked together always because they haven't always. There have been women - some girl teachers who came from down east who were stirring the teachers up to go on strike, years ago. Such things had never been heard of - teachers going on strike - too bad because teachers have a wonderful influence on their pupils and they don't have an influence through It sets them down a bit I think - for the pupils. :Bu:-:t I think that this one that was the leader in all this, wasn't hired _in the second year and things were done gently, they did.~'t have a fist fight. What was her proposition? Hhat was she upset about? Wages, and she was principally upset about it, everything that a strike would ... So you felt your wages were high enough? No, the wages were always low. And yet, you would not consider strike action as the course to take? Not ... She was upset about wages, she was upset about what else, hours? One thing they were upset about was that we weren't pr0ducing teachers of our own and these teachers had to come from down east and of course, in those days, the girls were very glad to get a position and so they came from Petrolia and Sarnia because it was close to the boat. So, one thing she was going to strike for was that the Board of Education would pay their boat fare here. There were people in the town who boarded teachers - they were well cared for and were honored citizens in the churches and all were fine strike. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. Q. A. �women. Some of the finest women we ever had are teachers, ~: Can you recall, as a young girl, the suffragette movement being discussed? A. Yes, Q. Was there a suffragette organization withing Thunder Bay? A. Of sorts. It wasn ' t very strong but of sorts. The suffragettes had many cartoons in papers of the suffragettes and I think some of them were accused of wearing pants and you could be run in, you could serve a term if you appeared in pants. It is not many years ago since my husband told me that I could~..go to his tailor and order a tailored suit with pants - any material or any cut - and he would pay for it. He knew perfectly well that I would never wear pants and out here it is just the kind of thing because it's cold and keeps your ankles warm. It's not so many years and now we don't think anything of it at all. Q. Must have been auful hard washing long dresses and ... A. Yes , washed by hand. Q. After the suffragette movement of sorts, do you recall the organization that also had something to do with that movement? A. Miss Black who was one of the first librarians in Fort William wasn ' t a fighting suffragette but she was quite in favor of that. Mary J. Black, Q, Unfortunately, all her people were lost when she went out to B.C. A. Yes, she had a brother that she went to when she was sick - before she died, and I suppose like. so many people, they cleaned up everything thoroughly. Q, Too bad that she hadn't given evecy ... A. I suppose, like many people she was going to write it up herself. Q, I believe th?.,t the Homen 's Christian Temperance Union supported suffrage? A. Yes, they weren't fighting about it but ... Q. They gave support. A. Yes. Q. They sent petitions and endorsements. A. Mother believed and belong ea~ to the WCTU for years. We were a big family but mother always had help - always had a maid and hadra washwoman, that came Monday all day and Hednesday for a half a day. That was the day when our dresses and our underwear were washed but not the sheets or pillowcases. That was once a week. She was president of the Ladies Aid and a member of the Mission Circle and the Miss WCTU and the Mother's____ Anyway, mother went to that and the one thing I remember abo~t it - she came home �and mother was the kind that she never looked for an argument, she was a very wise, sw~et uoman, but this night ~he came home and we sat down .... had not experience keeping house for a man and had no family and never did but she undertook to tell the mothers how to bring up their families and Mrs. Dr. Smelly had 8 and Mrs .. Neelan had 7 and they had big families and here(wRet was this woman telling them how. Q. What sort of things was she recommending? A. How to dress your children and how you fed them an.d what you taught them and everything - ;gh'e knew how. answers. These women with no children who knew all the Mother and Mrs. Smelly talked it over and they agreed that they did the best they could at the time. Q. To get back to the WCTU - you mentioned it in your book so I wonder - you have never heard what happened to Ricobs or anything - nobody seems to know. A. Young fQlks organization - The White River Band - and we had the record books for them but Dr. John Ritchie of Regina - he was a surgeon· there for years he is an uncle of Ken Ritchie the doctor in P.A.. A very fine man - well he was secretar-J for years and years and he was a pure wit and his minutes you got there early so you wo:i.aldn 1 t miss John B's minutes, it was lovely. So we had them - it had closed dmm for years and finally my sister sent them to him and of course he wrote back - he was delighted - he said many of the words he didn't know what· they meant but he had used them. So that is were that ·went, and as for the rest I don't know but Mrs. Hamlet - Q. I found several books in the library that were minutes. One of the more notable was a report of a social survey by the Department of Temperance and Moral Reform in the Methodist Church. a great amount of detail with it. It is rather complete, they went into TJas that a woman's organization or was it just church members? A. I don't know for sure but I would say it was an organization within·__. the church not necessarily all church officers. Q. What was it called? The report was called the Preliminary and General Social Survey of Port Arthur, March 1913, Directed by the Department of Temperance and Moral Reform in the Methodist Church and the Board of Social Service and Evangelism of the Presbyterian Church. A. So, you can take your pick there. Q. Yes, it is rather - so detailed, I was wondering if it had been a notable organization. �A. Q. A. Well, I think it was like so many organizations that just are born and flourish for a while and then go. They were doing good work in getting that written down. The statistics were very good. In my letter I told you to contact Mrs. Hamlet who lives in Waverly Towers. She is still there is a little nuclei of the WCTU - she and her sister, who is now in Westmount or Grandview in Fort William. Let me see, did she die just lately? Anyway, Mrs. Hamlet will know - she•s a little birdie woman Q. a very nice woman, a widow. I have noted on my studies of the English suffragettes - they were the prime movers~ that they allied themselves with temperance movements, for the rather obvious reasons. Nellie McClung was very closely allied with the temperance movement. Although it wasn't a militant movement, literature was circulated for women's rights and this went along with temperance, which was A. because women couldn't afford to .... I don't think so, it was the same women largely in all organizations. King's Daughters and all of these - oh, mother belonged to the K.D. or the Queen's Daughters - it was the Queen's Daughters in Victoria's time and then it was Q. A. the King's Daughters. Could you explain the function of the Queen's Daughters? It was an organization that fostered patriotism and when any noteworthy person like a Govenor-General etc. came, the Q.D.looled after them and they had meetings and showed the flag, like the Imperial Daughters - but they were older women - younger than lots of the IODE. Q. It was just a patriotic formation. There was also another book I came across - a report on the Local Council of Women - The West Algoma Local Council of Women. didn't you? A. No, I didn 't . Q. There was a Mrs. Dyke. A. It might have been my mother-in-law. You convened that JO years But I attended - I don't know whether I held any office in it for q_uite some time. But I wasn't a leading light but I think my mother-in-law was and she was a member of a hospital aid before the RMG hos pitaJ. was built and during which time, mother and Mrs. Dr. ~1Smelly and Mrs. Neelson and Yi.rs. Mical. Quite a bunch of them that were very friendly and they enjoyed their friendship at these meetings and once the RMG started - once a week they went to the hospital and mended the sheets and pillowcases and towels. Mother always had a good maid, woman or girl, so that �her children were in e;ood hands and mother was up early so that in the a£ter- Q. noon she could go and bring word back of what they did. This would be the ladies social contact I suppose because they didn ' t work out of the homes. If you didn 't belong to an organization, you wouldn ' t go A. out very much. Yes, that is so. I did come across the minutes from 1894-1950 and I wrote a list of all the Q. proposals and the ammendments that the coucil had made for the wanen. They strongly pushed for women sitting on various boards, particularly the School Board and in 1917 they wished to have at least two women appointed to the Taxation and Organization of Homen Labor Boards. Although they were interested in hospitals, they seemed to have suggested - in 1930 a pre natal. clinic in Port Arlhur - all sorts of things that women are still asking for. It seems that they were thinking along feminist lines - did it strike you that A. way at the time? That ' s why they organized - to have mightier say in things than they have had before because they were supposed, just to run their homes and bring up their children. And now they bancled together and asked for some things like the RMG hospital. There was just St. Joseph ' s Hospital and women didn ' t go to the hospital. to have their babies. The RMG hospital., the women urged that until they got it and the primary idea was for it to be like a maternity hospital. They had wards .and private rooms for maternity but it was RMG that was General, The Railway, Marine and General Hospital. Well, in those early days there was a great deal of typhoid, and they had a lot of typhoid wards and men ' s and Nomen 1 8; And my oldest sister went to the RMG to have her baby and there was a night nurse on for the men's typhoid ward - she crune across the hall to ansuer the bells of the young mothers. To have a nurse who would be far more interested in gabbing all night with those men than Q. A. bothering washing and scalding her hands before coming to the mothers and Eva went home with typhoid fever. Did she survive? A. She survived but she was ill for a long time. The baby as well? Yes. Q. They were both very lucky. A. Yes and lucky too there was a Scotch nurse - a married woman . Q. You see any lO �trained nurse was scarce and this woman married and came with her husband to Port Arthur and someway, I think my brother-in-law knew them well enough to have her come and look after Eva. She was Scotch - trained and we had very few trained nurses in those days. That is what started the RMG - to be Q. a maternity hospital. Were you also a member of the Women's Institute? A. No, that was a rural organization. They made - two or three years ago - the word went through all the institutes : "Have your district written up." and Mrs. Oliver did it for Slate River. Each area had it written up and I pre- sume all those books and papers are kept at the headquarters. Q. We are having a difficult time extracting the Hymers book from a Mrs. Thatcher. She has it and she is not giving it out. A. Q. Well - and hasn't had it published yet? No. I know that the Women's Institute did some valuable things including setting up libraries and providing rural women with what they needed - a place to go and be with other women. The council is more politically orientated - was there any tension between the two or did you co-operate? A. I don't recall any tension. Q. A. Was there any co-operation between the two groups for projects? Some. Q. Can you give me the areas? A. Q. I just have the feeling. Did you hear of the Dominion Women ' s Franchisement Association? They did change their name to a much easier one which was the Canadian Suffrage Association. I talked to Mr. Russell Brown and he said he remembered but he couldn't remember anything about the suffrage movement other than they wore pins. A. They tried to be militant to stir themsel~es up and to head up a slight war but they never got that far. Each strove a little bit and all together they have got some very good things for women. Q. After looking at the minutes I am findin 6 so many things that we are still fighting for. Looking back, do you think we have changed very much? gotten anywhere? Have we A• They have really done very well. Slowly and without making big distresses. They quietly accomplished a good many things. Q. Have you got something that you had worked on then, that is still not an accomplished feat, that you would very much like to see happen? \l �A. I don't think I can pull that one out of a hat. Because there ar~ so many things that they just have quietly gotten. Nellie McClung - she used to come and speak. Q. A. Her father-in-law was Presbyterian. She came to speak here? In P.A. and F.H.. The men loved Nellie McClung, she was witty. I used to go with father, and to hear her speak in the evening, there was lots of laughs in it. Q. A. She was very diplomatic and very kindly but she made a point. lfas she an inspiration for you? Yes and she had some experience with liquor and so she was out and out for WCTU. I remember her speaking in the Presbyterian church in Port Arthur - St. Paul's - and there would be as many men as women because she was worth going to hear and you quite agreed with what she had to say because she put it quite nicely. She spoke this evening and I think there was some big ~ I don't suppose it was a war, but something was on and the Archbishop of Canterbury had said that he couldn ' t do without his wine because it helped his digestive system and stomach do it ' s work. And the way she would state it and she had a little twinkle in her eye and everybody was laughing about this. The Archbishop uasn ' t an out and out prohibitionist, he liked his wine. was a very fine woman. She She went west - her father-in-law was one of the earliest ministers in P.A. - Methodist, because Robert McClung, who she married taught a Sunday school class of boys as a minister's son was expected to do. My aunts were all teachers and my grandmother taught the Bible class and my uncle was a Suuday school superintendant, and his wife played the organ in church. These were unrilly boys that Bob Mcclung was teaching. young man, 19 or so, He was a very Hell they would sit around him with their row of chairs, heads tight together listening to him. And they discovered that he had a copy of Robinson Crusoe in a Bible cover and he was reading that to them and they just~ loved him and loved his stories. Nellie went west to teach in those early days and she fell so in love with Mrs. Mcclung and there was a young son and she was so disappointed because if she could marry a son, she would be Mrs. McClung's daughter-in-law. To her great amazement and joy, this bo:;y sh(n1red up one time - he was a druggist - and here was a ready-made son of her own age. So she said that she - well, she would say it of course - she simply said her cap and he couldn't get out of it. So they married. led a great deal and was acclaimed wherever she went. She lectured and travelShe was well-known and one time she heard that her husband was objecting to her being away so much \2 �without telling her. So she went home and she had been honored in Toronto and Ottawa and he felt she was getting beyond him so when she got there in the evening and they had tea, she said to him, "Would you please pass.the brown bread?". That was the staple food, brown bread, and she wanted him to under- stand that she was still staple. So it went on from there. She loved Mrs. McClung and Mrs. McClung loved her, more than any of her own children. Q. Was she treated well by the papers here? A. Yes, wherever she went. Q. Did they print up any of her speeches? A. Oh, yes. Q. So, if I go through the microfilm - you don't know the years she was here? A. No, I couldn't tell you .... If you just get up and give dates and times, it just bores you to death. I see you have read "Plane Down" , that story in there. It is pure fiction but this is the house they crune to. They came in that door tumbled down their goods there, and went into the livingroom and we made fires in the kitchen and the back shed still has the great woodpile. Ann Caaslet, the Dickinsons were really pioneers, her great grandfather ran - r·don ' t know whether it was the first paper published in P.A. e His granddaughter is Mrs. Ann Causelet and she lives in this cottage where old Captain Marrin lived, Ann Dryna - my mind went blank, what was I going to say about Ann Dryna? ,a/,. '· 1 e A. . .... Oh yes, that "Plane Down" and they have been here for ever and ever and were talking about Nellie McClung. Ann speaks very slowly. morning. She lives back again in F.W. and she phoned this She said, "Mother and I have racked our brains trying to think of the year that plane mishap and we can't remember it at all. pen?" When did it hap- I said, "Imagine, have I convinced you?•, "Convinced me of what?". "That's pure fiction" and she said, "You told it too well, we thought it was true," Q. You have been very active in women's organizations all your life, and so has your mother. A. How do you feel about the women's oganizations now? I'm stric~ly a temperate woman, Father called it the "accursed stuff" because he had such trouble with th.e,~:men, especially the foundry men. fines and hauled them out and got them back to work. He payed their He and mother were strictly temperate and one thing I o1;>ject to is that these organizations now there is wine and cheese - well, it doesn ''t seem to dawn on them that they don't need to have this wine and cheese business but they think they've got to do like some of the others do. There are other less outstanding things �that they are also embracing and it used to be that now the Canadian Club was a splintered organization, it was for the most part made up of cultured, educated women, and I don't say that they aren ' t educated now, but I don't like some things and I feel that the women ' s organizations should stand forth for the best in Canad.a and you can't bring up children to avoid alcohol if you belong to these organizations that serve it and take it. to be on one side or the other. didn't need it. You have got We didn ' t serve it and we didn ' t miss it and And then, after all, women have a place that is separate from men and women are dressing like men and their doing so many things that men do, Q. Do you mean working? A. No, I mean in every way. For example, car racing and boy, the women are driving the cars along with the men. They have to do with all the sports. Q. You think that 's wrong. A. I think the men like them to be women. Q. Nellie HcClung had a saying: We were t~J.king to a woman who preferred to have her coat taken off and the doors opened etc. and Nellie McClung referred to that once as "wantin 0 to eat the icing rather than the cake." And that goes right along with her brown bread saying, where yoy. have to be recognized for your ability, and whether they open the door or ill.at shouldn't stand in the way. To me, this is the goal I 'm trying to work towards, and I think a lot of other women that I work with would agree with me on that. It is the cake that I would rather eat, you get too many cavities eating icing - too many holes in it. Do you have a daughter? A. Yes, in California. Q. Do you think that it is a better life for her than it was for you? A. It was pretty rugged and we didn't know it because it was where we lived and what we were used to. They have sidewalks and roads now that you can go without going down to the axle and in my day, in Fort lilliam especially. we have coveniences now in the house and travel etc. And Yes it is much easier. I was telline; somebody of a classmate of mine who got to P.A. from the States and came to high school. I don't know how she got to P.A. and her father had died and her mother was lecturing for something. She and her brother and, I don't know how they jerked themselves up but anyway they both got to P.A .. She was poor and had no ml':biley or \~achl.ng worked her way. but she got up to Collegiate and she She got up for this English woman who had 2 girls and she �washed and dressed them and got them breakfast and eot them to school and did the beds and dishes and left the house tidy - to come to school herself. I didn't think she paid and as for clothes, she gave her her cast-off clothes and this woman was two sizes smaller than Lula and Lula I remember had no hat so she wore a bonnet every winter and it was all she had. jolly well take· h er with a bormet or leave her. And you could She went through public school and went to the teachers college which we had for a few years and then she went up the line to teach and married the first man that asked her. hadn't had a home, so just to have a home. about him. She She wasn ' t asking the man much He had a farm but it had been bun1t over and when I saw her after some years of marriage, her hands were like horns - she was still using this burnt over wood and she had 5 children and somebody said "one every Friday" .every year, anyway. Her husband wasn't interested except to feed them - that was his duty done. She wanted them to have an education so she sewed and she proclaimed herself a barber and then she got a second hand chick hatchery an incubator - and turned one of the two bed.rooms she had into an incubating • room and hatched chickens and sold them around the district. tomatoe plants and sold them and sent her children to school. Then she raised Then they had to go into town for the hi¢gh school - her oldest daughter went first and she got babysitting - had a room but I don't think her board, but did that and it was enough to bring her cash. Then she went home Friday night and her mother did the s~wing, washing and ironing, fixed her up on Saturday and then she came back Sunday night and brought a big basket of food. Her brother was ready for hig9.school and they just put a sheet up in her room with a bed on each side and she managed the food for them. He eventually became a teacher and she trained in HcKellar Hospital and she had the money that they, paid the girls - $2.50 a month or $J.OO and if she broke a thermometer, it ~as a disaster and she had clothes her mother made out of old clothes. Stockings and those button - on shoes was all she had and she learned like her mother:· that was what she had and she wore •-il and she was thankful. denims so she could go hiking with the girls. RMG and had a bad time. Had a pair of The next girl went into the The matron didn ' t approve of her - a poor girl in the class with some of the girls that had more - so she dismissed her on the first pretext she could find and she herself was dismissed for cilsmissing the girl. They all managed and were splendid children. How many are doing that nowadays? \S �If they haven't silk stockings and all the rest of it, they sit down and howl at the moon, but these youngsters didn ' t. Q. I feel sorry for the girl you went to school with who married the first man who caJ.11e along to get a home and live with a man - probably not a very happy life. A. Oh, I'm sure, but she wouldn't cheep, there would be no squabbling, she made her bargain and she kept it. Dad finally died and he had a thousand dollars life insurance in some organization - very little. Now that is five $200 ' s well the youngest girl had died so there were four and she was the fifth so they each got $200 and that was just touching the •::louds. She came to F. W. and two or three times she came representing the Women ' s Institute and they would pay her way down and then she would stay with me and she told me "I just went on a regular binge, I bought an electric iron and an electric kettle" and then she bought enough black silk or rayon and a neighbor helped her make a dress and a jacket and she had $.50 left and she put it in the bank - so she had a bank account. The others - it was spent the same Hay - had to give a good account of every nickel. She died long since and at Christmas time I write one of her daughters and this daughter - her son and another boy in the neighbqrhood were going to play PeeW ee hockey in F. W. , so they stayed with ll!e. Youngsters love to see through a house so when they had been there a little while .I suggested that the boys go on and look through the house and see everything. One youngster went home and I guess he nadn 't been in a big house before and he told his mother all the details - the furniture, what they had on the beds, how they took a bath . in the bathtub. He is now a grown man and married long::::since but she still gives me a little of his history and she and her sister were fine women and well thought of in the community and the one boy is a teach er and the other is head of the highways in Kenora and I don't knou whether he is still there or whether he is retired or not. They have always accepted any help - so nicely - no embarrassment, just thank-you very much. Q. Uas there any help for a woman uho wanted to leave her husband - perhaps if he physically beat her or the children? Has there anyone she could turn to if she had no family? A. 1 tfell, they turned to the church and the minister and his wife. went into housework - that was her refuge. Of course, she �Q. Would she be able to take all of her children? A. If there Here children that would be different. Q. She would have to put up with it. A. Q. Yes, many of them did. A. There was often a ver-J nice neigbor map. who would beat the daylights out of This is one of the things we are still trying to work on. him - which he well deserved. Q. I asked an Italian lady in Italy what a wife would do if the husband beat her and she said that generally they never moved from the original village and she had her brothers protect her. It would take on<f.'•• thump and generally he got the message. A. There was an early priest - Father Baxter in P.A. He was a great big burly man and if he heard of any man that had been beating his wife, he ' d talrn off his clerical black gown, "nightg0vm" as they called it, and he ' d just give him such a thrashing that he wouldn't forget it. Many a man stopped beating his wife when he had a beating from Father Ba,'Cter. He came out here in the early days and said mass and that white house down there is built on the old foundation of the old Catholic church - the Sellars live in it. quite a family of them. in the Lakehead. There was They were the early elevator people and grain pe ople Hr. Al Sellars bought it but it was in such disrepair and it was finally torn down and then the foundation was. remade and he built the same size on thesame foundation. It was during the years I was away from Silver Islet that it was finished so it took some arguing on Ethel Sellars ' part to convince me that it wasn ' t the old Catholic Church. Q. Do your remember WWI? A. Yes. ' Q. · I am a history teacher - do you remember after the Har, in your experience, if the attitude towards working women changed much? A. Yes, it commenced a change because the women had irnrked so hard during the uar. Q. At jobs that a lot of people didn ' t think they could do. A. 1-J ell, Q. Did it progress further after WH2? A. Yes and after WWI and especially after WW2, the people had learned to go out there were more stenographers and bookeepers and things like. that . and enjoy themselves and people had learned to leave their children and go out. They took their families lightly to what they had been before, A mother wouldn ' t \7 �leave her children and go gabbing. They think nothing of leaving them and they can pretty much bring up th ems elves, the youngsters. Q. Do you see no discrepancy between a woman hiring a girl t.o feed her children breakfast and lunch and do their clothes and send them out to school, even though she lives withinl. the house, to women who have to use daycare centres to do the same thing? ·no you see much of a difference? A. Of course daycare - Miss Michaels has now set up her evm school in the Salvation Army Eall and has the daycare. That is a real profession. She has a real degree and education. Q. The point I ' m getting at is the effect on the children, Why would it be more acceptable to have a girl living in your home to do that? A. Because they are home - that's the only differ-~nce. These daycare centres, where the girl has to Imow a lot and the child must learn a lot. Q. Yes, they are very careful with them. A. There was a couple married in Hesley Church a11d they were quite active, they were both teachers. They had a child and they didn't show up again and it was some time before one of the ladies went to call and found that· this beautiful little girl baby had an enormous head - it was terrific. There nas something wrong with the children a11d so from that, they banded together and Wesley let them have a room and they met every mon1ing uith a different mother looking after these 5 or 6 children. It meant a holiday for the mother -l~ days a week and 5 mothers, and 5 children and they did simple ~ai.11es and things and looked after them and the mother would be refreshed and rested. I went d01m for about 26 years. I was the relief officer - that is an at- tendant to the second-hand clothing and people would come to my house, I had a trunk that was never empty and never full. ....... I would then send overseas twice a year there were greatshipments. I" remember one time .we sent 850 lbs. a.nd that is a lot to pack a.nd Hr. Gerr'iJ would come and help us rope and the McKenzie dray came and took it, shipped it, a11d paid tho shipping charges and just charged us for the shippinc charge - they never charged us for their dray and went on for years and yea:cs ... I would often be at the church in the morning~ after school and these children - the little girl with the great big head, I don ' t know how she held it up - it must have taken a long time to get it O o I• Q. How long did she survive? A. I think she was 9 or 10 when she finally died. shapen and mongoloid. The others, they were mis- I always stopped and talked to them and told them a story, so that they got to know me. l3 �• Q. A. Aft er the war, when ladies had been working in factory jobs and that sort of thing, when their husbands came home, did they expect them to go back to the way they had been? What sort of conflicts Callle from the change? They expected it. Women often went out without any squabbling, they get their own way and they had more money than they had ever and they weren ' t going to give that up right away. Q. A. So there was difficulty. The majority of women stayed with their husbands. And the husbands learnt to live with liberated women? It wasn't so easy for the men to get jobs and there are a few sensible men that would see that their wives really had to bring in the bread and butter and they had to work at home themselves. You saw quite a few, but also you saw the one that wasn ' t going to have it. going to stay so. ironed out. He was king of the castle and was That was the unfortunate few but it is wonderful how many There was one English girl that came out - the men came home first - well they sent the women home first - anyway, she was-______ and she married and Indian from the mission over here and in England they are not so concerned about the color of their skin as we are. them marry from the Near East - red and brmm skin. A great many of One of our ta,-ximen was at the station and this girl came to him and wanted to be taken to the mission, and he was shocked. She was a fine looking :I!nglish girl, so he said "Are you sure that is the right address?" She had married a native Canadian and was going to stay with his people until he got here. H2 very nicely tried to persuade her not to but she was going - he took her for quite a long ciistance and then you turn up tolthe reserve and he said he noticed that her chatter ceased when he turned up because it was pretty crummy in those days, they've decent houses now. He told her that this was the house and he told her he would wait and for her togo to the door. So she did and a big, fat, very unclean looking squaw came to the door - the mother of this boy she married. She just threw up her hands and came back to the taxi and said for him to take her away from there. He told her he knew and had tried to tell her but he decided she had better see for herself. He told her he would take her to his house or to the Salvation Army, 1-1hichever she wanted and she could get help from the Red Cross to go back home. She chose to go to the Salvation Army and reported to the Red Cross and they came and helped her. went right back home. She just They would have been marrying boys from all the colonies so she ..... now they are very fine, smarl Indian men that are working on the highways and worki:pg at machines. They've had a tough time, our native people. /9 �.,· • Q. A. We have a lot to account for. They used to scalp people and shoot them down with arrows and burn them and do all kinds of things. If we had a hoard of p~ople come in and take over our country - they had it for thousands of years - of course they ' d fight. Q, As far as scalping goes, it was white men that taught the Indians - they used It was easier to bring in a scalp, they thought of ears for a while but a guy could bring in two different ears and say they were ears from one person and so, the scalps. A. More power to them - fight for their land. If somebody crune along and put me out of this house, ..... Thank-you for your help Mrs. Dyke, it for bounty. l.C � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Herstory Project Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Herstory: Gertrude Dyke Description An account of the resource An oral history interview with Mrs. Gertrude Dyke in Port Arthur, Ontario. The interview was performed by Helen Lovekin as part of the Women's Decade Council Herstory project. The recording consists of two sides each of two cassette tapes, available here as four MP3 files. (Click on the speaker logo to play each file.) The transcript is available by clicking on the image thumbnails. During the interview, Mrs. Dyke recalls the social and working conditions of Northern Ontario in the early 20th century, focussing on the education system, her personal historical interests, regional terrain, temperance movements, local businesses, community and personal relationships, and the activity of women. Please note that this tape includes discussion of settler-Indigenous relations, using language that would not be seen as sensitive or appropriate today. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Women's Decade Council Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Release form was obtained by the Herstory project, allowing the recording to be shared and used. Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource MP3 PDF Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Audio Text Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Canada - Ontario - Port Arthur Canada - Ontario - Thunder Bay Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource [197?]-06-27 Subject The topic of the resource People Women's History