835 10 13233 https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/cf1b7501cce75b26d538b59167cfb45a.pdf bac6b7efc67335fe41bcec4fcf608c16 PDF Text Text , ':1f J .,.: .• N·orthwestern Ontario Day Care April 86 News 1 NWO DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout Northwestern Ontario, as wel I as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes - both in terms of governmental policy/ legislation and wi~h advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter wi I I combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates fee I and that through sharing resources, ideas and action plans we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of qua I ity day care in our region. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout NWO. Please send art i c Ies, newsc I i pp i ngs, I etters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay P7C 4V5. This news update wi I I be brief as we are enclosing the Coal it ion newsletter which provides a wealth of information about day care issues you wil I be interested in. INDIRECT SUBSIDY Be sure to read pp.3-5 of the Coal it ion newsletter which indicates optimism that the province wi I I make some necessary changes. As you wil I see, Gerry Duda, Senior Pol icy Coordinator, COMSOC "agreed with Coal it ion representatives that it did not make sense for the province to be enforcing its instructions to municipal day care centres to increase their fees to ful I per diem costs -at the same time the government was conducting a ful I-scale review of funding alternatives". Duda informed Sue-Colley "that indeed there seems to have been an oversight and the Regional Directors were meeting with the Policy Branch ... to discuss a new pol icy which would relax the rule requiring municipal centres to raise their fees to ful I cost by the end of 1986". While this is welcome news, we cannot relax. It appears that this relaxed policy/directive has not filtered down because we keep hearing that district COMSOC officials are continuing to pressure municipalities to raise fees and to take cost-cutting measures that wi I I erode the qua I ity of care provided by day care centres (see Thunder Bay and Longlac articles). It would be a tragedy if any of our NWO centres were forced to close or abandon qua I ity service before new (and hopefully satisfactory) policies were effected. We must increase our advocacy to ensure the stabi I ity of our existing centres. NWO DAY CARE PROJECT Our funding request to Secretary of State to carry out our regional project from January - June 1986 got caught in the federal government "freeze", and our grant was rejected because "the Government has acted on the basis of its fundamental commitment to reducing the nat i ona I debt". We fa i I to see how the $12,000 we were denied wi I I substantially reduce the federal deficit ... however, the reality is we didn't get it, so our plans to conduct a comprehensive survey of day care in NWO and to convene regional forums have had to be postponed. We have re-app·I ied for the grant for the period June - December 1986, thus hopefully the forums can be organized for early fal I. VIDEO PROJECT The Coal it ion has received a grant from the Ontario Women's Directorate for the Chi Id Care Video Project. Videotapes • wi I I be produced in 10 communities across the province, i I lustrating chi Id care concerns of local parents and day care groups. Marathon and Sioux Lookout have been chosen to represent NWO day care programs and issues. �I2 I COMMUN ITY NE\~S REPORTS TO READ The Post Card campaign organized by the SIOUX LOOKOUT PARENTS' GROUP is wel I underway, with hundreds of post cards from across Northwestern Ontario being sent to Premier David Peterson urging a universally accessible, publicly funded, high qua I ity day care system. If you need more post cards for your community, contact Janet Wi I ki nson, Box 177, Sioux Lookout or the NWO Regional Day Care Committee, Box 144, Thunder Bay P7C 4V5. Be sure to get a copy of the Report of the Task Force on Chi Id Care (the Katie Cooke report). This report can be obtained for $9.95 from Canada Government Publishing Centre, Supply & Services Canada, Ottawa KIA OS9. We al I need to be familiar with this report and be prepared to advocate for a number of its key recommendations. Some excel lent research studies have also been published (separately) by the Task Force. These are avai Iable free from the Communications Unit, Status of Women Canada, 10th Floor, 151 Sparks Street, Ottawa. TERRACE BAY's Town Counci I approved a request by the Day Care Group and have appointed a Day Care Advisory Committee composed of Town Counci I and parent representatives. This committee wil I further investigate ways and means to develop a day care centre in Terrace Bay. We are pleased to know that a Parents' Group has been formed in GERALDTON. The BIG TROUT LAKE Women's Group have placed day care at the top of their priorities. They have conducted a needs survey and are working toward the establishment of a day care centre in their community. We're happy to report that THUNDER BAY City Counci I is taking real leadership by urging the province to continue the 'indirect subsidy'. This and other positive actions arose from a recent meeting of .the City's Community Services Committee. With day care children and their parents packing Counci I Chambers, city politicians gave a sympathetic hearing to the briefs submitted by the Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Chi Id Care, NWO Regional Day Care Committee, CUPE and individual parents. The issue arose because City Administration had put forward a report which included a number of recommended • changes that would seriously affect the quality of Thunder Bay's municipal day care and jeopardize the existence of lhe centres. Thankfully, City Counci I deferred al I these recommendations and wi I I press the province- for appropriate government support. (If you would like a copy of the brief we made to the City let us know.) SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON CHILD CARE Although the dates for the hearings iQ Thunder Bay and Dryden have not yet been· confirmed, it appears I ikely that they wil I be ~eld during the week of May I~ . to May 16. Please plan to attend these hearings. Contact your parent group or day care supervisor for more information. THUNDER BAY ADVOCATES FOR QUALITY CHILD CARE ... Thunder Bay Advocates for Qua I ity Chi Id Care wi I I be meeting on Thursday, Apri I 17, 1986, at 8:00 p.m. at Ogden Community Centre to discuss the fo I lowing: Representations to the Special Committee on Chi Id Care; report and fol low-up to the presentation ma.de to City Counc i I; and plans for future activities of the advocacy group. If you require chi Id care, please advise by cal ling 345-7802 no later than Apri I 16. "The lack of better data on the number of children requiring chi Id care services is, perhaps, a reflection of the profound disinterest in the Ii ves and we I fare of chi Idren and their fam i I i es, which we detect on the part of government and po I icy makers in Canada." [The Katie Cooke Report] �Times-News, March I I, 1986 Chronicle-Journal, March 11, 1986 Daycare provides hot times ByHA\'lllt'IIOOD Chronidr-Juurn.11 Slarf An anxious cro•·d of 150 peopl•. mosl of lhem women and t'hildnn, overflov. td council chamben Mon• day. tttking lurns lo ,peak out agiiinsl policits lh•y feel lhruien lhe i,.,1111.sn:1>T rily'1 daycare ... •·tn hilu.•5 syslem. lrightc-ning" The community sen·ice~ commillee -.·as faced "·ith JO depulalions from indi• viduals or groups im·olved with day• care. The message was the ume Krap SOC'iail ~rvires' plan to cul back on daynre starf and pass on large tosl incrr.un 10 full-pay users. ··Tb, plans are jt.-opardizing the municipal daycare system we have in place:· ,aid Rulh Wells. president of Thunder Bay Ad,·ocales for Qualily Child Care. • new umbrella group. --coun<il musl ask Ibis policy be re• scinded immNiialely ... At issue is an administration report ~~!c:!!': :a~:~::n··::5!::,,~~l:f!!: Several speakers conlf:nded higher ft.-eS v.·ilJ lower daycare occupancy rates lo lhe point where the city will have to dose one or more of its cenlres. 01hen said single parents especially have had to pass on jobs ilnd drop out of training courses bl"Cause of a Jack of daycare. Fiona Karl,tedl. speaking for lhe Northweslern Ontario Regional Day Care commillee, said she found the hiked· fees ··an extremely frightening proposal... KIIAUS•; HOOED Aid. Peter KraUS<? IMclnlyrel got 1 boo from the p.1rllsan crowd when he sug~<-sl<d the indirecl subsidy might not entirely be needed and questioned .. ~·helher, al Hn:es, lhal ldayca;reJ need is being placed •·her, ii belongs." But Kr,;,use's insi~tcnce the real problem lies with the lederal and provincial governments, who should be ••pres• sured'' lo change their plans. met with agreement from the majority of the committee. A tettm from city social services Jed by Jim Dolph, told lhe commin,.' the eliminalion ol the indirect subsidy, now set lo occur at the end of lhe year, was the chief faclor prompling the report. Also, '"if we don't move lo enrolment• based contracts, lhe province could cancel all other subsidies," uid Qolph. Dolph and other Slaff explain«! laler the daycare enrolmenl contracts will nol penalize parents for suddenly• <'hanged circumstances. The agree• ments will contain cancellation clause& based on only 48-houn notice, allowing parenls wh05e work hours, family conditions or locations have chan,ed to avoid paying for unused daycare lime. Delph said currently only 69 per cent or city daycare spaces are occupied and lhal a largel of 90 per cent is needed lo sl.ilve off the impending fee hikes. • Nonetheless, many 11dermen ex• pressed <'1Jncem "'ilh the reporl's sue• geslions and the comm1tlt..-e deferred the mosl conlroversial six of J1 recommen• dalions alter commillee dlairman Aid. Dusly Miller rel•yed some recent d<•el• opmenls on lhe provincial level: daily rale (ar chilflren in clty daycare. Mosl thanJes afl«I lhe 275 children un• der care 1n (our organized centres. Amonglhem: • Fee hikes sl.ilrting this September to be1w ..n $26.33 and $28.16 per child per day from $17.$0 currenlly charged, •·hen the ••indir«t subsidy" from the federal ,ovemment thars passed on by the province is eliminated. • Enrolment-based stalling, using four-hour "supply" daycare workers, permanent parl-timers and splil shifts u, pla« of some of U,., ..lixed"' stall. • Enrolment contracts with parents, JSin& a binding contract lhal would ~~!~ 1rhea~u:~r i~1d~~~!!~eitf:~~ places the current method of billing cli• eni. based on 1Uendance records. • Clooing two of the centres for the monlhs of July and August. when sys• lem••·id< occupancy is only 50 per eent. C"IT\' TRAPPED, Bllr... ··we are truly caught betw,.n I rock and a hard place - ho"·ever, lhere b 1 ALREADY BIG l'IIOHLEMS Several speaker$ lold u,., commillee lilllt lighl al lhe end of lhe lunnel." she the changes could destroy a daycare announced. Miller said provincial official$ hive S)'S1f'm 1hat already has problems, in• dudin& ill cost to the lower ranks of recently admillcd the plan to recover middlf'-income people and .. working the fuJI cost of daycare from iother• wise I unsubsidized families Is "al odds .. poor•· and with low pay-levels for sLilfl. ··why is u,., city so eager lo further re- with the Liberal government's expan11rid at"<'f'.11 to qua lily daycare?" asked sion of such services: Joan Williams, a parent using the city , ··Regional direc:lon tol lhe Ministry <enlres. '"A subslanlial rale increase ol Community and Social Services) wlh •·ill force parenlJ to find less expensive be asked to relax this policy" while u,., government prepares a white paper on and CinleriorJ daycare." "Compu-ed to other increaHS, I.he ex• all daycare Issues, she uid. "I've heard more than enough to con• ltaonlinary increase in dar,care fees appeal'$ dillocull to justily. • said Wells. vince me we're jumping the gun on this lOting cily daycare fees rose 350 per issut!."" said Aid. B•lly Kenn<dy IMcK• cent bel~·..n 1!174 and lasl year, double ellarJ. '"There are numerous long and short-term impliulions, like daycare in/lalion"s <limb. Judith Mongrain. pr<Sid<nl of the Ca· centre closures." The committee deferred lhe ilems on nadian Union ol Public Employees' Local t1 repraenlin& city v.·orkers, said the !ee increase, summer closures, inlhe polities •·ill cost both daycare work· clus1on of younger-aged infants and an ers and p,1rents usinl the city service April I largel dale for dropping lhe lndi• lh•ir jobs. lhe Jailer becausr lhry"II ~ttl subsid,., ..~ial services will modily have lo quil rather than pa .. mosl ol its propos.a s 1n lime for the commitlee'1 April meeling. th Th~ co~~illtt, however. agreed to °o~:~'::!~Yiorca the ~ity lo pass on e,imination ol the lndi· drop its m1mmum user fee ubout S2S 1 year> for ~·elfan~ clienls and lo raise the reel daycare subsidy - roughly IO per slandlird deduction used to r•kulale u,., doycare subsidy "means lesl" lrom 10 ::!:'a:-~u~r~!ni~:n-~--~ per cent ol net Income lo 25 per cent, Sl,t!llper child, .. wid Wells. .. 11'1 unlikely lhert art very many broadening auiilanre •haibility . famihes ~·ho can afford lhese fees," she The cily will also pl,ace lhe iuue 15qua• uid, prtdiclinl a rnlriC'lion of munlcl· rely on the shoulden or the province and pal dayn~ to subsid11td, lower-income anempl lo lobby lor relcnl1on o/ the in• d1rorl 1ubsldy. l1milit1 and ..the rich." ::'l!>~~:rfo5 :.::i Parent awareness__me~ting--· at Long lac day ca-r~ "c;e.ntre, ,· ' ....... , _ _;- --- JI - be eligible lo r~ccive a subsidy to a~si1t was pn:v1ous1y quesuonea by parents lhem in paying for the cosl ol kt..-epine concerning the cost or part-time day. lheir child in day rare. Janlunen care usage. Jt is hardtr lo Hhedu)e str~~rd thal the assist.nee Is nol wel- st~ffing for part-time day care, so that LONGLAC - Gu\·crnmcnt suh~idy fare but a·subsidy. TI1rough this furmat ra1~cs the cost, she said. • . • • • •. ends lur lht- Longlar O~y C;,rr Centre on 1).&rt~i~ ~ubsidizalion can be available~ Jn an dforl lo miintatn stable -...·ork• Nov. J, iillld U,e adminislr.1lors Mr'-' plan• - Ehg1b1hly dl'pcnds upon inct1me Mnd ing condilions lor the slliff, therefore rening ahead. mcinlhly bills, with available im·ome u ducinc lht pouibilily of Joosine ,tart, . A Lout 15 porcnts atknded a parent the key. Jttnluncn asked parrnU loronsidct hava~,;,renrss 1m:tling where lhcy were A policy, 10 say thal .aJJ parcnb v.·ould ine the day care closed for two months gi\'c•n an u51porlunity lo dirtcl their romplcle a nl't'ds test, was an idea pre. in U1e summu or make it a\l'ailable for quc!<lliuns lo lot·al dd)' rare.· h·adcrs and u·ntrd al the meeling. This way lhtre full time wurking J'41rents onJy during C,1;h·i11 r.tt.'l'll, proi:ram !>Uf1Cn'i~or -...·ilh wuuld ht no sel lee. A fol ol JJ(.'ople try lo th.al lime. •• lhe Mmistry of Cummunily aod Social rc•ducc llitir i,icomc lax, lhis is a way to Desnciges Blier. i member ol the Sl'n·ic-es. rcdu(.'e individual day rare fees, said slalf, iolrodured 1hr Jnle~ution pro111(:rt.·a~cs in day c.ire rafts ar sd,cd- r.rccne. Jrim for mtnt.ally or j>hystcally h.andulc:d lhroughoul lhc )'l'ilr to inf.·orpurate • l<"iJJJicd children 01ildrcn placed in tJlil 1 u~tr va,· J1C>hry. nic i,cr dif.•m, v.·hat it Running .tn dlil'icnt day c.re r~duces p1ugro1m can be ;n~isted in learning and fCl)lS IOtlJlt.'rale i,,<:r child pcr day, is $20. operating costs. and one "''ii)' Co do that ran imvrove In basic skills. PariaiLs of TI1e people are paying Sil a day. 111e is through utilization of stall. JI tnrol• special netds children should contact pro\'iun: 1i.ays 80 per rcnl and the lown ' mcnl is JOO per t·cnt capacity it ie du,·a the day rart centre lof furtJ1er inlorma• pays 20 per cenl ol the .tmounl not µaid roSlS. Prc~ent cap;,cily is 45 children. lion concernin, th program.• . .by p.rt:nLS. .. Enrolment is about 100, bul allendance Fee calculation for children v.ith ipev;,rit..'S lo meel the n,-eds of the J)-'renl.5. cial nt-eds a,, difrtrcnt. said Vinceol Hates will mcrease $1 lor the first Cuntractcd c.:nn,lmenl. whiC:h would Green, v..·ho has been associated v.ith child in Loth June and Novl•mLcr. m.iiinLain ma>:imum use of the d.-y c.iire the program for about four ye.an, sajd TI1t· costs art prl'll)' wtJJ fixed," said staff, is 1nothc1 elliciency me.ans. nus he found the Longlac day cai-e cent.re J~ne Jantuncn, 11ocial ~crvice adminis- v.·ould involve commJlling p.itrenls to Wlique. ''Bt:eau.se of the French immerlnlor. TI,o~e inc1udc hydro, heat and briug lheii child lo day care. sion that is h~re. And II works." he said. 5.aluies. .:~•~•~o~'g_,h18J; of•~~ f:~:it•:1.f:~~d1r~:~Jt..!ii Tht more children that allend day ,..,!u~~ • care, the lt!SS lJ1e cost.s. II 1~-ople take with a sillec. --who can allord to pay two th• baby 1iller, .. said Jantunen. . • Thr biggest' question," admitted 01cir children out ol the day care, the limes?" she asked. cosl per child will co up. she added. "We v.·ould have to give a financial Bernice Picard, an early childhood 'Po1rcnls wert em·ourag1..-d to complete "Lrcak for pt.-ople undtr contract," Jan• worker, following lhe meelin& wa1 furm 7, ~·hich is a Nt•eds Tt..•sling for• •luucn aruwered. ..~·hy the aovemme"l doan'l iee day m.-t, to dl·lcrminc whether they would Agnes Vinrent, day care supervisor, careasimporlanl." Hy H~;A A~EIIS-11\"IIO/'i rorn·~J11.mdul CTtll•J1l1unc 329-~71 I) ' 0 ~f1~~.:!t~ 0 Daycare studying finances meetings with M.P.P., council Ma,alhon Dilyc.are ii invt~li&:tlins ,;,hc,na1i\·e1 lo finance i" ,·rn1u· on lic:111l0 D,i.,.c. The h\•.trd tha1 ovtr~cc1 the op,cra1ion of lhc n.·01,c mcl "ilh M.P.P. Cii1lc) r~ulio1 l~sl_ -...n·I. 10 cnlisl. his suppm1 m a11;u11mg fundins f,om lhc pu.n-incial rmc-rnmcnt. Da)·fa1t pll'lliJcnl him Ransom ,ays 1ha1 M.11.a1hon Daycart i1 lhc fo\l l.tdli1y in llu: nullh of lhis lypc "1htt1 i\n 1 1 toing 10 1;c1 fundins... The MiniSII)' ol Communil)' ;,md So.:i.tl Sc1vio:s (C'OMSOC) fundcd rhc upna1ion cm1s lo, a sia,i up pl'I ind .tnd 1.·,m1ribu1,·d ., omc of 1hc capi1al 10 puu:ha~c rquip1m·n1 hul nin1i11ucs 10 ruud ,,nly sub~idi,cd llJl-''n. • Ho111som uid 1ha1 Pouliot promi>cd 10 1.tU, 10 ,-c111u: fK·,1plc in Tuwnlo ;md lll"C ii 1ht1t \,,o ~umc lu1J1Kial lallpp,111 ;,\a1l.1hle. R;,n~om ~.aid hi) ho.ud 1old Poulio1 1hc 0·1111t ir. a 1:10\\ iu, facility »nd ••1w1 a \\ hi1c dcphan1••. lie Hid 1ha1 money is 111a·drd to 1c1 ii 1111001:h 1hc 11'°" lh )&·au. "Wc'\t 1:01 1hr ha,il.:s," ht )o1id, bu1 ,ueucd 1ha1 1hc ci.:n11c m·rds )Omc ••t,ilb" 1u uial.c lhc tol'n·icc a daycare "th•• mo,c people ,...ill be h.-ppy wi1h. •• The bo;,rd hn•c pu11in1 all lu I fuud raisin& r11s in one basl.ct. JI inlc:nds lo .tpprnach co1pora1ions in lhc communi1y 10 ask for a per hour annl in nch,;,nge for iuaro1n1trin1 Sp.tees. The cenue could fill 1he rnc1vcd spaces on a condi1ional arranicmcn1 until the corporation, wan1cd ii . The cor• pon1ion could oiler guar.1n1ccd spacn u para ol 1hc bcocfh • p.tcL.a1c 101 employees. 'fht fin1 corpo10111ion 10 be ofrc,c-d 1his auan1irmrn1 will be ch; T,1'-'mhip of M.tralhon. The Da)~·J1c Hoard hiils ;,lll:cd 10 mcel ..., i1h 1l1c ,·uuncil 10 discuss ihis and 01hcr \\.&)'' rl,c- munilipali1y can of• fr, ,h,i)l,.nrc. Thh indudn ~sl:in& Ilic iowmhip 10 t·ovc:1 20-;0 QI 1hc c.m1 ol 1ubiidi1cd 1pt11rn CCOMSOC onJy p,1y1 kO'l•) and providina or u1h,iJiiin1 lCI\ ice, ,uch as snlic11011. I ocal sc.,.,.ice clubs h.-vc also l1n·n .t\L1.·J 10 C1.H1laidcr purd,.-sin1 .:,111ipmcnl for lht dayc;,rc. ~~ H.iillin, 1hc p1ofik of 1he do1yca1c ala .1 lien ice prn\·idcr is another ,11a1cu 1-hc bua,d is puuuing. ro, im.lanct 1hc ccnur ru111:n1ly olftn a "la1chl.c)'°' pro~r.•m in 1ht moruing ro, 11uhlic )Chool siuJcno. Pau·nu nn d1op 1hrir child1cn oil a1 lhc d.tycarc any1imt ahcr· 1:30 wh4.•rc ltu:y will he lool.ed ar1n 11111il lht ~duml lm) ar• rives in (10111 of lht ccnue. A 1turl'a11i1,uiun is 1al.ing pla~e a1 1hc t·cnuc. The day has been hrol.cn dC'lwn inlo "bloch" which :.re orfc:rl'd ill a rtdun·J rate for para lime d;1)'l'arc IIH'f!r> 1ha1 conuact a v.1.·ck ahead. k.an\Om calls the ))'Mi.:m "t·onlt:&CI billinc." Ul'~idcs lhl' la1chl.cy blocL a 1110mins and af1~1noon ••socialiialion .. blocl: i1 a\·ailablc s.o 1h.t1 children "ho a1e d,oppcd oil c.-.n be im·olv• rd in a cm~1rk1c pwr•.1111 in11cad of comin& in lhc middle of s.omrthina. The S)'Uem is hdpina 1hc cenuc ,a1jonali:1c iu scl1cdul• in&, h's ca~ier lo dc1c,mine how many staff members arc ncedtd. ho"· much food should be .t\·ail.tblc and removes 1hc surp,is.cs in the worl.crs• day. Diop-in d.t)·nrc U)CU 1ha1 don'I nofily 1hc ,rnuc of Iheir in1cn1ion by 1hc Thuud;iy p,ior to using 1hc service ·will pay lhc p,rmium ra1e of Sl.00 ~r hour. u~crs takini advantage of 1hc con1,ac1 billina s.avc 75C per hour. "We're nol • squeaky whtel," says Ransom. ••we sc1.tmblc hul "'C' provide a sc:r.,.ice.•• The un·ice is srnwin& siodily he says. The ccnlr< is holdina i1s own wi1h the cquhi1lcn1 of 14 full lime p;u1icipo11111. Marathon Mercury, January 29, 1986 � 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, April 1986 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News April 1986. Includes information about Indirect Subsidy; NWO Care Project; Child Care Video Project, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; day care news for Sioux Lookout, Terrace Bay, Big Trout Lake, Geraldton, Thunder Bay; Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Child Care. 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 1986-04 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_86apr 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 - Sioux Lookout Canada - Ontario - Terrace Bay Canada - Ontario - Big Trout Lake Canada - Ontario - Geraldton https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/66c550e530450fa206fd8446abfca861.pdf 745a6cc7f7bb4d268ede8fbd9d8b82a1 PDF Text Text . Northvvestern Ontario Day Care Nevvs December 185 NWO DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout Northwestern Ontario, as wel I as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes - both in terms of governmental pol icy/legislation and with advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter wil I combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocat'es fee I and that through sharing resources, ideas and action plans we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of qua I ity day care in our region. We wi I I welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care committee/centre throughout NWO. Please send articles, newscl ippings, letters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4V5. From these visits, the need for a strong, regional organization has been expressed by many people. The networks that are evolving need continued work and the strategies of collective action must be matured .. Therefore, we are applying for funds for a second phase of the project (from January to June 1986) through which we plan to conduct a comprehensive survey of day care in Northwestern Ontario (requested by several communities) and organize a forum or forums in the spring to bring together day care parents, workers, local decision makers and interested citizens. In the second phase, our project worker wi I I also travel to other communities not previously visited. Please let us know if you would I ike her to visit your community. "TIME FOR CHANGE" - ONTARIO COALITION FOR BETTER DAY CARE, CONFERENCE AND LOBBY, OCTOBER 26-28 REGIONAL DAY CARE PROJECT During the past five months, the Regional Day Care Committee has, through a Secretary of State grant, carried out a project to analyze the situation of day care in NWO; to initiate a regional network of al I persons concerned with day care; to provide information from provincial and national day care organizations to NWO Groups; and to put forward a NWO perspective to governments and to provincial/national day care advocacy associations. Our part-time project worker has travel led to Kenora, Fort Frances, Ati kokan, Geraldton and Terrace Bay meeting with day care parents, workers and other interested citizens encouraging the development of active parent~' groups, and learning local issues and needs. There were three representatives from Thunder Bay among the 200 in attendance at the annual conference of the Ontario Coalition for Better Day Care. The theme of the conference - "Time for Change" - was appropriate on two fronts. The Coal it ion was reorganized and expanded to incorporate local coalitions and individuals, as wel I as provincial organizations. A Counci I made up of representatives from various provincial organizations, local groups and individuals wi I I meet three times each year, and an Executive elected from the Counci I wi I I meet a minimum of 10 times per year. Holly Rupert from Red Lake was elected as one of the four individual representatives, and the Thunder Bay . Advocates for Qua I ity Chi Id Care wi 11 be represented on the Coal it ion Counci I as wel I. The first meeting of the Counci I wi I I be he Id January 25th in Toronto. �In I ight of the new provincial government and our hopes for new directions, "Time for Change" was indeed an appropriate theme for the lobby which fol lowed the conference. The mood in the room throughout the three hour lobby was one of excitement and anticipation. Although the Superior Room at Queen's Park was fi I led to capacity (reportedly 300 people), the lobby was highly organized and profess i ona I. In fact, Bob Rae congratu I ated the Coalition for putting on "one of the best organized lobbies he had ever been at". Three Tories were in attendance forthe ful I hour al lotted to them. Although Phi I Gi I I ies (Brantford) attempted to articulate Tory pol icy in response to our questions, he did so with difficulty and embarrassment (his two col leagues were conspicuously silent). The eleven NOP members in attendance expressed agreement with the Coal it ion throughout questioning and agreed that day care should receive greater emphasis. ·The last but most eagerly anticipated caucus - the Liberals - had twenty members in attendance, inc I ud i ng John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services, and Ian Scott, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Women's Issues. Sweeney reiterated at the outset his government's commitment to day care, assuring those present that day care is a high priority for the Peterson g?vernment. While acknowledging the problems that exist, little else was offered. Sweeney expressed concern that if they tried to renegotiate Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) financing for day care, the provincial government might have to renegotiate al I financing under the plan, including welfare. (CAP is the only federal-provincial program that is st i I I open-ended - that is, the federal government's contribution to it is I imited only by the amount the prov i nee spends.) The pol icy to withdraw the indirect subsidy is a result of CAP (welfare) funding for day care. Sweeney stated that withdrawal of the indirect subsidy wi I I take effect at the end of 1986, rather than 1985, as previously planned. When questioned about the possible closure of day care centres due to this pol icy, Sweeney indicated that he would deal with each situation on an individual basis. While the politicians were impressed by the lobby, it was evident that we must keep up the pressure on a I I fronts. Back to the Conference! Saturday was spent in large part at a series of informative workshops. One workshop, "Alternative Federal Funding Mechanisms", looked at the present system of funding and the alternative proposed by the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association (copies avai I able from CDCAA, 323 Chapel Street, Ottawa K1N 7Z2). This proposal integrates principles, services and the role each level of government would play regarding funding, and would be extremely valuable to anyone preparing a submission on ch i Id ca re. Another related workshop, "Task Force Update" was orig i na I I y to have focused on the findings of the Day Care Task Force chaired by Dr. Katie Cooke and set up under the former Liberal government. However, as the final report was not yet avai Iable, the focus shifted to preparations for the next Task Force on Chi Id Care. It was emphasized that we should be ready for it when it came. We were encouraged to lobby to have hearings scheduled in more than one city in each province and, if unable to attend the hearings, to make written submissions both as groups and individuals. (Given that the establishment of the Par I iamentary Task Force on Child Care was forma I I y announced a month after the conference, this workshop was extremely helpful.) Those of us attending the conference and lobby came away energized and eager to continue our efforts to attain better day care. �INDIRECT SUBSIDY For NWO children to be provided qua I ity day care in 1986, the fees charged to parents must be affordable. Of course, day care must become a universal service but being realistic we know this is a long-term goal. Right now, we must ensure that we do not lose the day care centres we presently have in NWO. This means that the provincial government must be persuaded to continue the "indirect subsidy" to municipal day care and/or provide a direct grant to al I non-profit day care centres. In the past several years, because of the provincial directive regarding the elimination of indirect subsidy, day care fees in NWO have increased annually (or more often). And every time an increase occurs, a number of fami I ies find that they have to withdraw their children. The fees are just too high. In fact, because of the high fees, there are a number of NWO day care centres that today have unfi I led spaces! And many children who need day care are not served, but rather are placed in less expensive, unsupervised, unregulated arrangements, Because of short-sighted funding policies, young children are being denied the benefits of a qua I ity day care program. Unless provincial policies change, this situation wi I I only worsen. The current fees charged in NWO centres range from $13-18. Without the indirect subsidy the fees wi I I jump to $25-35 per day. Up to 75% of the municipal and nonprofit day care centres in NWO could be forced to close. Individually and collectively, NWO day care advocates have been raising the issue of indirect subsidy/direct grant with provincial politicians. This issue was an important feature of the Coal it ion lobby of al I provincial politicians. Members of the NWO Regional Day Care Committee have discussed this issue with the Hon. John Sweeney, Minister of Community and Social Services, and with the Hon. Ian Scott, Minister Responsible for Women's Issues. Thunder Bay Advocates for Qua I ity Chi Id Care have met with Jim Foulds, MPP - Port Arthur, and Marathon Day Care has communicated with Gi Iles Pouliot, MPP - Lake Nipigon. We al I must continue to impress on our political representatives the urgency of providing qua I ity, affordable day care. The effect of our lobbies has had only I imited results. At the Coal it ion lobby, the Hon. John Sweeney announced that the provincial pol icy re the elimination of indirect subsidy was postponed unti I December 31, 1986. PARLI.A.MENTARY TASK FORCE The federal government has just announced the establishment of the Par I iamentary Task Force on Chi Id Care. This Task Force is extremely important in that its work wil I point the direction for day care pol icy for the years ahead. In a sense, this Task Force is our last chance to influence the development of adequate day care pol icy. The Task Force intends to hold public consultations and we have written urging the Task Force to hold pub I ic hearings in Northwestern Ontario, and to provide travel subsidies for district travel to these hearings. We' 11 keep you posted. It is vital that submissions from individuals, as wel I as groups, be made. If you are concerned about the future of day care, please plan to make a statement to the Task Force (and please let us know of your wi I I i ngness to make a presentation). We have sent a package of resource materJal - background information, recommendations for federal action, Task Force terms of reference - to al I the day care centres in NWO. Contact the supervisor of the day care centre in your community for more information or write us at Box 144, Thunder Bay. OVER 50% OF MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN UNDER 5 ARE IN THE PAID LABOUR FORCE. YET THERE IS A CHILDCARE SPACE FOR LESS THAN 1 IN 10 CHILDREN NEEDING ONE. �POST CARD CAMPAIGN The Sioux Lookout Parents Group are organizing a "Post Card Campaign" and are seeking the support of other day care centres and advocacy groups in making fhe campaign effective. The post card (the exact wording of which is st i I I to be f i na I i zed) would indicate support for provincially-funded day care and be signed by parents and other concerned citizens and sent to MPPs. If the politicians receive many post cards, an impact w i I I be made. Plan now to support this important project. Let the Sioux Lookout Parents Group know how many post cards you wi I I need, and whether or not you can share the cost of printing them. For more information, contact Janet Wilkinson, Sioux Lookout Parents Group, c/o Norah Love Children's Centre, Box 177, Sioux Lookout, Ontario. THE SCHOOL HOUSE PLAY CARE CENTRE OF LAKEHEAD The School House Play Centre opened its doors on September 3, 1985. Our centre is unique in that it is the first workplace day care centre in the Thunder Bay area. Although it was established to accommodate chi Idren of Lakehead Board of Education employees, space is also available for other children in the community. Our priority is qua I ity day care. The home-I ike atmosphere of the centre provides a welcoming environment to both children and adults, in which the individual chi Id's needs are met through a wide range of creative, stimulating and nurturing activities and programs. It is important to us that parents know their children are being we I I-cared for by qua I ified staff who truly enjoy working with the children. We hope that our centre is only the first of many workplace day care centres in Thunder Bay. Although enrollment continues to increase, spaces are sti II avai Iable. For further information, please feel free to contact Ke I I y Job I in at 344-8719. DAYCARE UPDATE: RED LAKE The Women's Information Group, an ad hoc group in Red Lake conc~rned with the broad spectrum of issues affecting women, targeted day care as one of the issues needing a higher profile during the November municipal election. The group produced a pamphlet, ~ith assistance from Secretary of State, which explained the funding crisis affecting day care services in our community. The pamphlets were distributed at two al I-candidates' meetings, at which specific questions about day care were put to the candidates. Before election day, Jennifer McKibbon, a candidate supportive of day care, and myself met with the workers at the Red Lake Day Care Centre. The workers have concerns about their ch ron i ca I I y Iow wages and a pay scale which does not fairly reflect employees' years of service at the centre. The workers are encouraged to know that as a member-at large of the Ontario Coal it ion for Better Day Care Counc i I I can take their concerns beyond the community to a supportive organization committed to improved child care services. In the new year, I plan to meet with the director of the Balmertown Day Care Centre. - Ho I I y Rupert CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE INCLUDE Ruth We I Is, Margaret Phi I I i ps, Ke I I y J ob I i n , J a net Wi I k i nson , Ho I I y Ru pert and Fiona Karlstedt. We hope you wi 11 consider contributing to the next issue. Day Care in the News: Red Lake, Dryden, Terrace B a y - - - - - ~ �THE TIMES-NEWS, Tuesday. July 30, 1985 Daycare - a definite need By~~~ TERRACE BAY- Day care In Ten-ON Bay. • ~~~ ....:..i-;ely ~ ~ Mafda,Y has ~111d• Project Mayday con- ducted• •f toO ,nkllnlaollbeCQlllfflWII• t=:. ~:-~:: ~£en:!..~.. TIie majority eonc1.IJ,elr children would ...,.,11 rrom some type of :=.:I=~ ro, chlldral. belon and pA!t·llllle daycare ~ full-tlmt oiler ICboal. =-r~..r ~ Ille)' bad ID Immediate _,i o1 tu11-ume c1aycare. WedllldaY, July 17; • meetlnl of tateretted parents wu held to 4iaCUSI 1111 ....ita of Ille WUCommit• carried oul IUImonth. tees were formed to in- ~=· I'/: :!'::.:="of dlnl for daycare. Day~care concerns v~ihceg_.AV(~t "2~.f:..!.in_g w,.t town council Uncertainty continues 'to be 1985 user fee portion increase in the caldi-word for the future. of. the daily fee from $10.50 to $15 the Dryden Day.Care Centre, per day and stat.es, "it appears with pending financial losses 'likely that further increaaea will cauaing continued concern. follow in 1986." At a special day-care infonnaIn 1984, Dryden consumers tion meeting in the Dryden paid $10.50 a day, with the remunicipal office SepL 23, 15 in- maining $14 CXIYel'ed 50 per cent tereated ciiliens heard Dryden by the federal government, 30 Mayor Tommy Jones aay that .per cent by .the proviru:e and 20 although counciJ will continue • per cent by tha municipality. malting representations to the This year, the per diem cost is Minister of Community and &. $22.80, with the maximum user cial Services in an endeavor to fee effective SepL 1, 1985 at $15. keep day-care centres from cl0&: The shortfall of $7.80 is covered ing, the Town of Dryden may in- as follows: $6.24 by the province aeaae its daily day-care rates in and $1.56 by the municipality. the 1986 bw:lgeL ~ t a who are fully subsiMayor Jones also said the , the rate is $1 per day, with town would review its current the ·remaining 80-20 split cosubsidy eligibility criteria. ven,d by the province and muniln January of this year, the cipality respectively. federal government announced it Children from the unorga~ atop ita day<are subsidy 'F:ed. ~~es who~ deemed startmg ·Jan.'!t:J.986, 'Mayor ubemgm need are·lt>O]lerc:eat. Jones eaid he recently learned funded by the province; and if not that date bas been 'changed to in need, the same 80-20 split ap, SepL 1, 1986. In response to the plies. federal cutbacks, the province in• Of the average of 32 children tends to only fund those day-care currently using the centre, 12 to clienta who qualify for full or par- 15 are non-residents. tia1 subsidies through a special Mayor Jones eaid, "We believe n-18 tesL day care is an asset to the Town Diane Conway, program 8\1• of _Dryden and the users . . . if pervisor with the miniatry in we could increase the numbers in Kenon., told parents at the meet,. day care, we could then decrease ing that t.be Liberal government the per diem rate." • is proceeding as originally planHe said there ~ no~ ellO\lgh ned with the eubsidy. cuts. She chitdren in need at the Dryden eaid she is trying to help centres centreandeaidtheneedaeligibil• find methoda of lowering the per ity criteria would be looked into diem rate. for parents to .avoid after Mr. Green .suggested-a reany future closwea. view. "TheminisuyhaamadeacomMa. Conway eaid if occupancy mitment to ensure no .day-care waa incniased to 90pei: cent, the centres close as a result of the per diem rate could be reduced. policy," aha aaid, adding mllllt The miniaby ia trying to.achieve middleclaaa parents with two aratenearS18forevsyday-care children would .qualify' for IOIR8 eiinb'e in the diatriet_ eubsidy. Coun. Susan Welle auggest.ed Calvin Green, a program eu- there could be room for a lot of perviaor with the mim.try in COllt reductions in meala and Th~Bay,aaidthefd!li~ ~ bu~ Paul Hea,n, chier time <to&ptember ifnqt ~ ~tant. am '70 ·per-emit ae waa allotted b y " 1 M ~ ~ $160,000~)Ciiit is ·mr ·becauseoftherecppiz.eddiflicuJ. stall; with food costs at less than ties, 10 per cent. A wrilten' brief dilmouted'by Mr: Heayn also said IIOme council at_the_meeting notes the (c-,,,,,,.,J . . -- - - - - "'Tbe greates& danger of 11111." said Ms. Smllll. "is :''i:at~:.:r. the likelihood that mlttee Mrs. Cuol Quesne11e will dlalr tlle- daycare wlll become lhettoized. Aller all, wby lWld r~commtttee. would a pareu~ who c,ould ..='1~\!.111~ who also attended the r.~-::u~ r.ie~..r~:: informed Ille nanny Instead? Thus IP""'P daycare wUI be 115ed only by Ille less af• c\~~ of such ser· nuent members of our •~Pl'sald that Ille ,oclety, such u single meetinll- ~:::::.= 11'."7'0: elded • JocaUGIL ... In spl.. ol Ille obllacles presented by 1overn• ment'1 tncWference, enlllusiam -•iled at Ille meetinl, ~"!"~~ ld!:"i:::!uJ:: ing of a concert and uk· Ing variolll commualty and national IP""'PI for financtaJ autstance were toued arouad amon1 worklnl -,,.,., " ohe U.O preaent. :;v.=i~p:;: 11.t\._ of 1h11 c,ould be I - for• daycare alte 111 llmdlllC.-...- Ille detertanUOII of Ille inch- llliDI existing standards of quallly In factllllel, sucb u ,_,,. :.'n1a"";'tc"=t ,ri;: llalanceofllletab. ~-=u"~ ~..:.i ~-~~- :.: -ydeara ID•111,LonaJac lbree ,..,... also service lllat Ille children Ml. Smftll •. . - - oul that - - ol tbll therefore Imperative wtlhdnnl of flmdlDI. tllecaolollllCboetvicel that"bDUI aovemmentJ to usera hu riJm to u and individuals reall<e much u S35 per day In 1111 Importance of making some clllea. Thi• Is affordable daycare beyond the rtnanclal available to au parents, reacll of DIOOI middle and reaardless of income low-income families. status or geographical iseu1eec[ In September, • a>m· mualty ineelln1 will be lleld at which Ume Ille committees' (lndlnp will bit dlsc:Ussed and further action taken. tColUinu,d fmm ptJK~ I) . further staff-child ratio reducoperational changes were made tion. since July of this year in an Fouowing a discussion of attempt to reduce per diem rosts. severaf measures suggested by They include only allowing chit• council and the ministry to tackle dren two servings at lunch, cur• the day-care fundlhg problems, tailment of staff snacking pri• Mayor Jones said, "Hopefully, vileges, including soup lihd sand- some of the things we've talked wiches once weekly on the menu about will have some effect." and advising staff thilt they will He also suggested that conhave to pay for their lwiches at cerned residents should write to some point in time. the minister. Coun. George Boisaonneault expressed concern that, "If you • . In an interview aft.er the meethave two or three kid& the cost is ing, Ms. Corner said'" she was pleased the government has exastronomical." tended the date of the subsidizaCoun. Cary Case suggested tion cuts to Sept. 1, 1986 and said that if the current· eight,.t.o-one the town definitely has to look at staJ17child ratio for 24 to five- the ceilings on the eligibility year-olds was reduced to 10 to· needs test. noting that none of one, cost savings would be more the three residents tested who substantial than through any she thought would qualify for food-oriented measures. subsidies met the necessary criteria. However, Heather Corner, bryden day-care suj,ervisor, Although licensed to serve 45 said, "There goes your quality children a day. the current aver• age 1s only 32 and Ms. Covner day care." adding that it would he ju~t on<" ~tf'p from there to a F-aici t hnt 1f C'ounril again in- creases the rates in 1986, more clients could be lost: She said the re-examinution of the needs test "might make a difference" but that while she hopes the government will revrr.;,, its decision, "I don't r<•allv think they will." • �Need for adequate day care is ·e1nphasized Before attending a conference sponsored by the Ontario Coalition for Beller Day Care, the major advocacy group for child care in the province, I hadn't recoj?nized the urgency or the day care issue. More mothers or young ,hildren now work for a wage or salary than stay home full-time, and their numbers are increasing. Al the same lime, ii is women who bear U1c primary responsibility for the care and upbringing or their children. These two facts mean there is .pressing social need ror adequate child care when parents are not available lo provide it. It's not only women with school-age children who have entered the labor force. The participation rate or women with children under six has increased by 271 percent in the past 15 years. A majority of women with children under three now have jobs outside the home as well, according lo the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association <CDCAA), a non-profit, voluntary organization based in Ottawa. The royal commissio~ report by Judge Rosalie Abella, published last fall, observes U1al, "By Canadian law both parents have a duty to care for their children, but by custom this responsibility has consitenlly fallen to the mother." Studies cited in the report show that more than 90 percent of all day care arrangements are made by mothers. It is the inability to find suitable day care which makes it impossible for many women to seek paid employment. A Canadian labor force survey Speaking of Children By HOLLY IUPIII has shown that about 121,000 working mothers had lo leave or refuse a job in 1980 because of inadequate child care arrangements. To complete lhe statistical picture, approximately 2,000,000 Canadian children need some form of child care; more than half of those children are under six. Yet in 1983, there were Jess than 140,000 licensed day care spaces in the whole country. . The current day care system is, at best, a hodge podge of municipally-run and privale I] -. . .. ~ licensed centres. family di!)' care . <homes which care for up to five children), and informal care arrangements. Babysillers, relatives and lhc neighbor down lhe street make up the "informal" system, which provides care for about 85 per cent of children. Some of these arrangments are excellent; some are far from adequate. The concern with informal care, according to most day care advocates, is that it's not licensed and therefore not well regulated; THE REGIONAL, NOVEMBER 13, 1985 • In many ways that in turn, means quality care is difficult lo ensure. • Uay care services are not distributed evenly across the country. Parents in rural areas nia,· not have access lo licensed chiid care. a situation which is compounded by region_al disparities. According to lhe CUCAA, the number of spaces per 1,000 cluldrcn under six varies from a low of nine in Newfoundland to a high of 84 in Manitoba. The key limiting factor for most families is the prohibitive cost of day care. Typically, parents must pay $2.000-5,000 per year for a licensed day care space. For children under two years, the cost can be considerably higher, as much as Si ,000 per year. The current svstem of fundine e 0\ for day care involves all levels of government. As the most critical and complex area of the day care issue, I'll examine it separately in my next column. It is fair to say that day care is fast becoming.a commodity for the rich <who can afford full fees) and a welfare service for those with tow incomes <who are helped by a subsidy>; it's middleclass parents who are hurt. the most by the present day care systems. Day care critics cling to myth that children belong at home with their mother. But the reality or middle-class Canadian Ille in the '80s is that both &pOUSeS need to work. If one parent of those working couples stayed home, about half of those working couples stayed home, about half or those Canadian families would fall below the poverty line. The neglect of a comprehensive day care policy in Canada shows that as a society, we haven't sorted out our values with respect to children and parenting. As the CDCAA told the Abella commission, "How can we not afford to support the modern family in carrying out Its most fundamental role of all - child rearing? ... As a people, Canadians must respond." THE REGIONAL, DECEMBER 4, 1985 13 Quality day care more costly tha_n average family can afford l::d. Note: This column appeared in U1e Nov. Z'1 ls&ue of lhe Regional, bowevrr ,everal columns of type were in lhe wrong ord~r. II is being rerun here for claril,l'.. People concerned about child care services in Canada all agree on one point: high quality care costs more than most parents can reasonably afford to pay. Yet most parents can- not look to the government for financial assistance. Under the existing system, day care is considered a welfare service, which means subsidy is only available to those who earn very litUe income. Seventy-five million in federal dollars are spent each year on day care through the Canada Assistance Pian ICAP). • ' Under the plan, the federal government pays 50 percent of child care costs for families "in need", and the province either pays the rest or splits the rema i II de r with the municipality. The subsidy is adjusted according to how much help the family is judged lo need. The !lroblem with CAP is that ii helps only a small number of families. In Ontario, only 30 percent of children in licensed care receive a subsidy; the rest must pay full fees, according to the Ontario Coalition for Better Daycare, a Toronto-based· lobbying organization. . When CAP was introduced in 1966 to provide social assistance and welfare services for a selected segment of Canadians, ii was never intended to become the only federal funding scheme for child c;ire services. Yet thal is the situation which has evolved. Many families look to the child care lax deduction of up to t2.ooo per child allowed on federal income tax as a means of defraying the cost of child care. Although the federal government clrectively transfers about ~!05 million lo parents U1rough this deduction, about half of this benefit goes to families with incomes of $~5.000 or more. Middle income families are hurt the most by the existing systme. They are not helped by CAP or the tax exemption, runding schemes which do nothing to build a comprehensive day care system in Canada. As one veteran day care advocate said, . of sPeakmg . Ch .Id I re n 6'° tllo)U \ RUPERT ··IJ;,v cart' is subsidized by 1i1r J..!ople involved with ii. Either the children subsidize the ser\'icc by accepting low quality cart', or the parents subsidize the service . b) accepting low salaries." With no government fundmg flowing direclly to the centres, they remain fi1iancially fragile. If there is a drop in enrolment one month, a centre goes into debt, or raises its fees, which in turn can lead lo a further drop in enrolment. At the same time, under the current system, any increase in stair salaries can only be rcllecled in increascd fees to parents. Thedaycarefieldhas become a female )Ob ghetto wiLh chronically low wages. In Ontario, lhc a,·erage annual earnings for day care worker is $13,88~. and O\'cr GO percent leave their work after one to lhr~-e years, according lo research commissioned for the federal Task Force on Child Care. Advocacy groups like the Ontario coalition and the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association ICDCAA l see direct funding as the only way lo build a day care system which truly meets lhe developmental needs of children. Direct funding would stabilize the funds needed to de\'elop high quality programs. It would allow children from a c r o s s I h e socioeconomic spectrum to have access to a range of child care services. Access to care would no longer by hmiled by a family's ability to pay or meet financial criteria. The CDCAA also l>Oints out that direct funding would allow those who provide child care lo earn adequate wages. There are concrete lunding proposals on the table. • The CDCAA has called for a federal childcare financing act to provide federal and provincial funding for day care on a nonrestrictive, universal basis. The act would include funding lo existing licensed spaces based on a formula of $5 per day to every licensed or supervised centre or caregiver for ever ap- pro\'ed space. As a short term measure, the grant would stabilize lhe existing day care system. bringing us a step closer to universal funding without increasing fees. As Judith Martin, founding chairperson of CDCAA said, "The neglect of a comprehensive family support and day care policy in Canada intrudes severely on the privacy or the family by limiting and shaping the choices parents can make. Why are working families expected to deal with child care as an individual problem?" More than a year aflec its election, the Mulroney ·government has not de\'oted a single new penny to day care. But as any parent in the system can tell you, the day care crisis in not going to go away. � 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, December 1985 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News December 1985. Includes information about the Regional Day Care Project; Time For Change Conference, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; Indirect Subsidy; Parliamentary Task Force; Post Card Campaign; School House Play Care Centre of Lakehead and Red Lake Day Care Centre. 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 1985-12 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_85dec 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 Lake https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/98ca2b4d14ac40013cc574962f0ba0f8.pdf 6964e2e0c15f87bc96f5eac8fdb4fb1b PDF Text Text ·· Northvvestern Ontario Day Care FEBRUARY 1989 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 FEDERAL CHILD CARE ACT Well, the federal election has come and gone and we are back at square zero with the federal child care plan, Thanks to concerted efforts of child care advocates from across Canada, and vigorous opposition from Liberal and New Democratic Party Members of Parliament, the Child Care Act (Bill C-144) was stalled and the Act died at the election call. Child care advocates breathed a sigh of relief. Our joy was short-lived however. With a majority government the Conservatives appear to be determined to reintroduce their regressive child care legislation. Consequently, our efforts to oppose this legislation must be renewed. It is perhaps useful to summarize the experience that occured with Bill C-144, and understand the process and ways we must intervene when the legislation is _stgain introduced. Following the report of the Special Committee on Child Ca~e (the year+ long, $million+ exercise) the federal government announced the National Strategy on Child Care. This "strategy" was immediately critized by the day care community (and others) and lobbying efforts, including the Picture Book Campaign were carried out. (It must be pointed out that the "National Strategy" was even more regressive than the Special Committee on Child Care's inadequate and regressive reco~mendations.) Totally ignoring the opinions of child care experts, the Conservative government transposed its str~ ategy paper into proposed legislation which went thro~gh the following process: (1) First Reading in the House of Commons; (2) Second Reading in the House of Commons; (3) referral to House of Commons Committee; (4) Committee hearings; (5) Committee report; (6) Third Reading in House of Commons; (7) legislation to the Senate; (8) Senate Committee hearings. At this point the election was called and the legislation died. Strong criticism of the legislation was made in the House of Commons by the opposition parties at every possible point in this process. Community opposition was voiced with interventions at the House of Commons Committee hearings and the Senate Committee hearings, and with on-going lobbying of Members of Parliament, media events and public education. CONTINUED ... �2 ♦ .., The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee undertook: position paper responding to National Strategy participation in the Picture Book Campaign communication with all N.W.O MPs re Strategy meetings with Thunder Bay Atikokan & Thunder Bay-Nipigon MPs participation in CDCAA lobby telegram to Prime Minister Mulroney opposing legislation telephone calls/letters to NWO MPs urging opposition to legislation request to appear before the House of Commons Committee hearings (we were not chosen to appear) on-going communication with NWO MPs re opposition to legislation telegram urging Senate Comm. hearings request to appear at Senate Committee hearings (not chosen) on-going public education All this action was directed to the federal level, but we took action at the provincial level as well. We have sent telegrams and letters to the Hon. John Sweeney urging Ontario to reject the federal plan, and we have had on-going communication with NWO MPPs in this regard. Opposition to the federal child care plan continues to grow. The most recent critique comes from the government's own advisory group the National Council of Welfare ' (see separate article). Along with the C.D.C.A.A., every local and provincial day care advocacy group, ~omen's organizations, labour organizations, teachers federations, and many other national and local groups are strongly opposing the legislation. In face of this extensive opposition we must ponder why the government refuses to listen to the people most knowledgable and concerned about the issue. When questioned during the election TV leaders debate about why he did not liS t en to day care advocates P.M. Mulroney's response was "why should I ... " This arrogant response forewarns us of the difficult task we have before us. It seems likely that the Child Care Act (in identical or similar form) will be again introduced when Parliament resumes in February or March. It will be necessary to redouble our efforts to ensure this legislation is scraped or significantly amended. We must acquaint our new N.W.O. MPs with our position and encourage their opposition to the Bill. Please take every opportunity to talk to your MP about this urgent issue. . ... GOOD NEWS CHILDCARE The Tory way .. .No Way' The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee finally has an office! And soon we will have a telephone and an answering service. We are (almost) settled in the . office space at 281 Bay Street. For the time being the office will be staffed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Our phone number will be 345-8803. �3 PROVINCIAL UPDATE Direct Operating Grant The direct operating grant has • been implemented. For some centres the direct grant flowed smoothly, quickly providing much needed wages increases for staff. In other instances the implementation was slow and laborious. In certain situations the employer utilized the "exception" clause, and the grant was not directed to wages and benefits. Information gathered by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee in the fall of 1988 (with app. 80% of NWO centres reporting) show the following breakdown: 72% of centres applied 100% of the direct grant to wages and benefits; 14% of centres applied a portion of the grant to wages; while 14% did not apply the grant to wages/benefits. Our observations are that the major problem concerning the implementation of the direct operating grant was created by the province allowing exceptions to the wages/benefits priority. Because certain day care organizations chose to not direct any of the grant to staff wages/benefits the wage disparity of Northwestern Ontario day care workers has widened significantly. Other problems mentioned were that information concerning the direct operating grant was not equitably provided to those impacted ~y the grant (i.e supervisors, workers, and, in some cases, unions. The interrelationship between the direct operating grant and pay equity also requires clarification. The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee made recommendations to the Ministry through the Funding Advisory Committee, as follows: (1) That where significant wage disparities exist (based on regional norm and/or provincial standards) the Ministry instruct day care organizations to direct the 1989 direct operating grant to wages and benefits only. (2) That full information about the direct operating grant be given to day care supervisors, workers, and where applicable, unions. (3) That full information about pay equity provisions, and the implications of the direct operating grant on pay equity be provided to municipal day care supervisors, workers and unions. (4) That day care organizations be assured, in writing, by the Ministry that the direct operating grant will be on-going. * (5) That administrative procedures be simplified as much as possible. (6) That efforts be made by the Ministry to speed up the approval process. * This has been confirmed. A letter from the Hon. John Sweeney, Minister of Community & Social Services states (in part): "I would like to assure you that the existing direct grant program is open-ended, that the funding is ongoing and eligible for the annual economic adjustment that is provided for all base ministry programs." Income Testing 7he implementation of income testing has experienced several delays and is now planned for 1990. The Ministry is currently studying the impact of income testing. They hope to produce a discussion paper by summer 1989, with policy options. The N.W.O.R.D.C.C. will urge the province to consult with the day care community in this process. �4 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY The Corporation of the Town of Geraldton requires DAY CARE CENTRE TEACHER Qualifications: E.C.E. Diploma or equivalent education plus experience will be considered. Bilingualism, while not a required qualification, would be considered an asset. Qualified candidates should forward their application stating personal history, education and experience to: While the focus of this problem has been Metro Toronto with its ~ waiting list of 5000, the problem is relatively just as serious in many Northwestern Ontario communities. In Thunder Bay some 800 1000 families are waiting for a day care spa~e ... the municipal program alone has a waiting list exceeding 630. District centres are similarly strained with waiting lists of 40 in Geraldton, 50 in Fort Frances, and 60 in Dryden. It is projected that 75% of those on waiting lists would qualify for subsidy. The expansion of day care spaces in Northwestern Ontario, and the subsidy spaces allocated, are no where near meeting the demand. The province must be urged to address these pressing needs. FORUM 1989 Miss Diane Sarrazin Supervisor Geraldton Day Care Centre /La Garderie de Geraldton Box 70 Geraldton, Ontario POT lMO PROVINCIAL UPDATE Subsidy Spaces The most recent crisis in Ontario child care is the subsidy issue. Across the province waiting lists for new subsidized day care spaces exceed 7000. Despite this crying need the provincial government has announced that it would not pay for any more new subsidized spaces this budget year. Day care advocates are deeply concerned that the province will not adequately address this issue in the next budget year. Plan now to attend the 4th annual Regional Day Care Forum, which will be held in Thunder Bay (Ramada Inn) Friday, March 31st and Saturday, April 1st,- 1989. This FORUM is for day care parents, workers, administrators, ECE students, community activists -- for everyone concerned about the future of quality child care in Northwestern Ontario. Issues that will be addressed include: provincial policy issues - direct opeiating grant, income testing, transitional grants, subsidy spaces; new federal legislation; day care jurisdiction, and more. CONTINuEJ �. 5 •QOALITION REPORT by Anita Price At the December executive meeting of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care we discussed federal developments and where do we go from here. It was decided that the Coalition focus should be on th~ Provincial Government to not buy into the legislation. We must press the provincial government to have the FEDERAL - PROVINCIAL negotiations be more open. We, as a group, must focus on what the impacts will be if Bill C-144 is passed. A kit is being prepared that will include the Coalition's brief ' provincial and federal fact sheets, the political parties' positions, lobby instructions, press release, and other helpful documents. This lobby kit is to help people get the information in the ridings. Hopefully we can regionally plan and coordinate a date ... perhaps a week. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WELFARE REPORT The recent release of 'Child Care A Better Alternative', the report of the National Council of Welfare came as a pleasant surprise to day' care advocates. While many of the recommendations are those that day care advocates have been making for years, the source of the report is encouraging. The National Council of Welfare is a government appointed body, whose mandate is to advise the Minister of Health & Welfare on matters pertaining to welfare. Surely, one would hope, the government would listen to its own advisory group (???) Key criticisms advanced by the Council's study are (1) that the government's strategy was designed to limit federal spending on child care; (2) that the emphasis was on funding parents rather than creating needed child care spaces; (3) that the strategy would fund commercial profit making centres ; ( 4 ) that a~ i mp roved parental benefit policy was lacking from the plan; ( 5) that na tional standards were not spelled out. !!!!:!..!. llCEIISIII CllllD CME sPIIUS MD CHILDlllR Of - 1 • • SIIIIIIIC PMlns, 1•1 P•rclftti,. of th•..,. of llc.nsed Ch11d r.,,_ nvrtier of Chi ldtitft llf'd•r 13 111th Ptret1ts ~ Outstdetho- 18,595 43,1182 5,120 181,531 Zll,4S2 84,586 ,..... 10,516 M.011 58,425 4,503 5,397 1,264 1,318 240 415 16,916 166,151 419,355 44,041 48,298 !PIM. 241,545 llrtt.tstl Colrilt - AlHrt1 S11t1tchewl111 fllnttobe Dflt1rto hew lltvftlwlct ho'fl Scotti PrtM• £ctw.trd Island UW11fa.N11M tlol'tMlt Terrttorhtt 11,US Chlldrett Uflder lJ In lfc.lfflted Child Cue IOI 20 I 1• 12 12 ID II 1• )0,91J8 • ,.,n.11, 131 . FORUM 1989 (continued) Guest speakers, panels and a variety of interesting workshops will give everyone much food for thought. Guest speakers will include Kay Eastham, Director, Child Care Branch, Ministry of Community and Social Services, and representatives of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association. Detailed FORUM information including registration forms, subsidy information, etc. will be forwarded in a few weeks. One of the difficulties advocates have faced in the child care de~~ bate is overcoming public misconceptions about the reality of the government's funding plans. (To a taxpayer not conversant with the funding implications the announc~ment of $6~illion for child care services seems like a lot of money .... and why are we complaining?) CONTINUED �6 !!!:!..! - 'Child Care, A Better Alternati~e' provides an alternative that "puts .... all available resources into child care services and none into tax breaks". Their recommendations include: R11 QIILD 1-.1917 FISCAL T£M CME, Eioftt'ftlllftt ~ (niffiloi,I) CiMdl AHtstanc1 Pl111 Trttntnt Substcltn • Cl" on lndtan RHIM'H Chi lcl CIN hPIIIH 0NUCt1on . Sulttau1• $131 51 I ill. Slll ,erc,nt.age of Toul 207, 7 I il. sn Pf"O'ftnct1l :. Ttn"ttorhl Clftldl A11t1tuc1 P11n Othv o., Cue Sub11cl1H Child Clf"I lapen11 DNKU• -GUI Slll 207, 17 Ill ~ !!. Slit 47' IOOI IUTM. This study provides some useful documentation that can help clear up some misconceptions. For example , the report describes whatI • I is 'old' money and what is new money. (A fact the governmen conveniently forgets to mention in its propaganda.) 7 The study also graphically d:monstrates the fact that upper income families will benefit the most from the new tax provisions. Families with incomes of $100,000 will have tax savings of $3286, while those with $20,000 will benefit by only $400. Even under the current system 35% of government "child care" spending is on tax deduction that ~a~nly benefits higher income families. The Council, whose focus is poverty and social policy, clearly points out that the lack of d~y care spaces means that the maJority of low income families who would qualify for child care subsidy, in fact, do not receive.it, because there is no space available, On a national basis ~nly 15% of those eligible for :ither a full or partial subsidy in 1987 actually received assistance. I~ Ontario, the figure was only 10%, !.!!!!!.! -- The federal government should reverse its decision to supplement the refundable child tax credit as part of its child care strategy and should use the money instead to increase the supply of licensed child care spaces and to provide more subsidies for maintaining those spaces, The federal government should increase the amount of money available for capital grants to $1.5 billion over the next seven years. Ottawa should not impose any fixed ceilings on the amount of money it is willing to spend to help the provinces and territories cover the operating costs of child care programs. The principles of the new child care system should be spelled out in the Canada Child Care Act, much as the goals of medicare and the obligations of the provinces and territories are spelled out in the Canada Health Act. The federal government should include a "grandfather clause" in the Canada Child Care Act to allow operating grants to existing commercial centres, but no new ones. Alternatively, the government should require that all commercial centres convert to non-profit centres within a reasonable period of time if they wish to continue getting federal funding. A programme of parental benefits should be added to maternity benefits under unemployment insurance. Copies of this report may be obtained by writing to the National Council of Welfare, Brooke Claxton Building, Ottawa,KlA OK9. � 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, February 1989 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News February 1989. Includes information about the Federal Child Care Act and a summary of advocacy actions taken by the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee; details of the new office; Direct Operating Grant; Income Testing; provincial Subsidy spaces; Regional Day Care Forum April 1st, 1989; report from the Coalition for Better Child Care; National Council of Welfare Report. 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 1989-02 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_89feb 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/7f57e8ef92fc1f4b80467119fbba0737.pdf a3e47996560970cdf4ff84381c6fc2ac PDF Text Text 1 NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO DAY CARE NEWS February 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 actions 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 4VS. Contents: March Forum Agenda................ . .. 2 New Child Care Setting............ . ...... 3 Congratulations to Lee Angus...... . ...... 3 S_erious Threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Coalition's New Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Added Funds for Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Child Care in Sweden . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Day Care Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Federal Deductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 No Go for PHSSR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Playground Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Membership Renewal Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 �2 BOOK FRIDAY,. THESE DATES M"ARCH 22., .1 .9 .9 .1 AND M"ARCH SATURDAY., 23,. .1 .9 .9 .1 ANNUAL NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO REGIONAL DAY CARE COMMITTEE FORUM s ~ o i Rod Oak Xnn. scr••t• rhund@r Bay AGENDA FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1991 Registration 6:30pm - 10:00pm 6:30pm - 7:30pm Keynote Speaker 7:30pm - Laurel Rothman, Past President of the Ontario Coalition of Better Child Care. speaking on the State of Child Care in Ontario, followed by a Wine and Cheese Reception. SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 1991 Beverages and Muffins 8:00am - 9:00am Panel Discussion 9:00am Northwestern Ontario Break 8:30am - 5:00pm - 9:45am - State of the Region of 9:45 - 10:00am Overview and workshops on the U-turn document and pay equity 10:00am - 12 noon Dave Hagerman and Carol Anne Sceviour Luncheon and business meeting 12 noon - 1:30pm Overview of the new Child Care Network Provincial Strategy Workshops Break 1:30pm - 2:00pm 2:00pm - 3:30pm 3:30pm - 3:45pm Plenary Session and concluding cash prize draw - 3:45pm - 4:30pm �.., 3 NEW CHILD CARE SETTING IN THUNDER BAY'S COUNTY PARK by Bobbi Tamblyn The Lakehead District Roman Catholic Separate School Board will be building a new elementary school in the County Park area, targeted opening date September, 1992. In accordance with the new legislative agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Community and Social Services, a child care centre will be established in the school. As of January 25, 1991, a community needs assessment has completed. As soon as the data from the assessment has processed architectural drawings will be completed. been been The new child care centre will be non-profit, run by a parent volunteer board of directors. Anyone who is interested in becoming an advisory board member, or helping in the planning and set up in these very initial stages and throughout the project is urged to contact Bobbi Tamblyn at ( 807) 625-1545. As well, any input, comments or suggestions are welcome. In the meantime, we'll keep you posted. CONGRATULATIONS TO LEE ANGUS Lee Angus, formerly employed be the NWORDCC, has accepted th~ position of special constituency assistant to the llinis t.er of Revenue in Toronto . The Honourable Shelley Wark-Martyn has gained a very valuable employee. We will miss her and we wish her the best in her new job. SERIOUS THREAT IN THUNDER BAY With the new 1991 municipal budget going before the Thunder 5 .::t ~City Council on February 12th, the Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Child Care are organizing parents and representative s of non profit child care centres across the city to protest the proposed cuts to child care funding. The new budget is proposing the closure of the Grace Remus Municipal Day Care Centre, cutting all purchase of service agreements for subsidized spaces with other child care centres and cutting the municipally funded private home day care program . The Advocates urge all concerned residents to call the city council members, write letters to the City of Thunder Bay and to your Members of Provincial Parliament. �4 ONTARIO COALITION PRESENTS A NEW PLAN by Linda Hossie (The Globe and Mail) The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care proposed a $560million child are program to the New Democratic government at a meeting on November 8, 1990, which brought positive comments from both sides. This cost, which would be shared by the provincial and federal governments and parents, does not include pay equity. One estimate for pay equity for the 22,000 child care workers is $24-million. The proposal also called for an additional 10,000 child care spaces. In this document called the U-Turn, the Coalition proposed that fees for child care services be abolished, that day care become a provincially funded service similar to education and that the province be responsible for collecting fees from parents and other funders. Under this proposal, children would enter programs as their names came up on the waiting list. Their parents would then take an income test to determine the amount of their child care contribution and the province would bill them on a monthly or quarterly basis, similar to the way once used for OHIP. Added Funds fo~ Chi2d Ca~e Zanana Akande announced on January 31, 1991, a total of 5,000 additional child care subsidies. As well, she stated the government will provide $30 million as a "down payment" for pay equity for child care workers in the non-profit sector. Janet Davis, president of the Ontario Coaltion for Better Child Care stated: "We're really pleased. I think it shows a real commitment to child care in a time of economic restraint, a time when the provincial government is really hurting." Liberal HPP Lyn McLeod termed the announcement "woefully inadequate", arguing that it will still leave thousands of Ontario children unable to get into day care. Presently in Thunder Bay, there are over 600 children on child care waiting lists. Will the municipalities take advantage of this? sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss �., 5 A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE OF CHILD CARE IN SWEDEN by Teresa Legowski I took the opportunity to interview Asa Petterson, an exchange student teacher from Sweden, whose placement occurred in my daughter's junior kindergarten class. The following is a brief description of the state of child care in Sweden from Ms. Petterson's perspective. In Sweden, a kindergarten program does not exist. Formal elementary school begins when the child is seven years old. From the ages of one up to seven, the child attends a preschool ( popularly known as day care). At the preschool, the program becomes progressive 1 y academic as the child gets older. 8 y the time the child is six, half of each day is devoted to academic programs. Presently, the Swedish government is exploring the possibility of increasing the age of entry for children into preschool to 12 months. This is directly related to the high demand for child care spaces. At the same time, the government would extend the parental leave program to 18 months from the birth of the child. Technically, babies can be cared for in their own homes by their own parents for 18 months. Incidentally, the present parental leave program can be ~P t o one year, depending on how the parent chooses to receive the benefit. If the parent wants to receive benefits for fi·,e days a ;1ee.c... instead of seven days a week, then s\he can stay home .:1rd r ':'::ei·;r=: 90% of his\her salary for one year, rather than nine months. mine months would be paid benefits for seven days a week). The Ministry of Education is responsible for child care 3.n:1 collects a user fee directly from the parents. This fee is based on a percentage of their income, but in no Hay covers completely the actual costs associated with running child care. The fee is the same for all ages, and always includes meals, snacks and extra time. Tax payers subsidize the rest of the costs. �6 As mentioned previously, the six year old's program a day of academics. Thus the content is viewed as the elementary school system and parents only pay a Fees are less per child, if the family has two or enroled in the preschool. involves half being part of half day fee. more children Parents have the following child care choices available. The regular preschools are located in both urban and rural centres. In smaller centres, children from ages one to six are housed in one building. In larger, urban centres some preschools are divided into different buildings: one housing the 1-3 year olds; the other housing 4-7 year olds. A few child care centres are open over night and on weekends, but not very many. Sometimes, there are up to 64 children in one centre. Another program is the cooperative parent pre schoo 1. Usual 1 y, these programs are located in renovated houses. Two teachers are hired, but the parents come in as helpers on a rotational basis for blocks of two weeks. This offers parents and their children the opportunity for a more intimate relationship. However, not all parents have the flexibility to be committed to such blocks of time. The government also funds a program of registered home day cares. This is especially popular for infant care. Before and after school programs are available to children up to 12 years of age. Most are still located at the preschools, but the government is now beginning to implement a program where this :,ill be available at the child's school. Private child care is also ar. option. In all cases, except for the private child care scenario, the government totally funds the programs, and collects farental fees. The child:staff ratio for the ages of 18 months to three years is 12 children for every two and one-half full time teachers. For the three to seven year old children, it is 15-18 children to ttJ ,) H,d one-half full time teachers. A university degree of two and one-half years duration is required to become a teacher for 3-7 year olds, and for the before and ~ft~~ school programs. For teaching a younger child a college degree is required. The government is presently looking at stan::lardi::in,1 teachers' qualifications. The programming itself is based on several principles which reflect Swedish culture: peace, solidarity, self esteem, democracy and cooperation. The emphasis is on haw to become a good, socially functioning person. It is child centred, with more emphasis on functioning within the group and less on the individual. The emphasis in North America is away from peace an~ the group and more on the individual. �7 Day Care Costs The annual cost of day care for a three year old across Canada, according to management consultants Runzheimer Canada Inc., for full time, commercial operations are as follows: Toronto, $6,612; Yellowknife, $5,760; Ottawa, $5,712; Whitehorse, $4,824; Saskatoon, $4,740; London, Ontario, $4,512; Montreal, $4,392; Quebec City, $,380; CANADIAN AVERAGE, $4,284; Vancouver, $4, 152; Regina, $4,080; Halifax, $4,020; St. John's, $3,948; Calgary, $3,804; Winnipeg, $3,684; Victoria, $3,636; Edmonton, $3,348; Saint John, $2,940. FEDERAL BEHIND DEDUCTION FALLING WAY The income tax system's child care expense deduction is fallin~ way behind the real cost for many parents. A working parent is allowed a child care expense tax of up to $4,000 for each child who is under the age of seven or infirm. So parents in the adjacent table's bottom six cities can use the pretax dollars to pay the full cost of day care for their three year olds, but the others cannot. When the child is between seven and 14, drops to $2,000. the child care deduction The re was a recent court ruling concerning this deduction. At issue was the restriction that if both parents are "supportin-;,i persons" the deduction can be claimed only by the one Hi th the louer income. In that case, the trial division of the Federal Court affirmed that if one spouse has no income at all, the deduction can be 8laimed ty the other spouse, who does have an income. Previously, Revenue Canada maintained that the zero-income spouse 11as the lower income person, and the only one entitled to the deduction, even though there was no income against which it could be claimed. ***************************************************************** . �8 NO GO FOR PMSSR by Margaret Phillips The Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee has prepared a response to the report of the Provincial Hunicipal Social Services Review ( PHSSR) outlining our concern that the implementation of the PHSSR would have severe negative effects on child care in Northwestern Ontario. Our concern centres on three areas. Firstly, the basic issue of social services funding deficiencies is not addressed. The serious under funding that has plagued child care for 20 years has not even been considered. We feel it is not useful to determine new management roles when basic funding issues have not been dealt with. Secondly, we believe that reallocating the responsibility for the discretionary services of child care and community based services to the municipal sector would lead to an erosion of child care services. In the long term, child care and services f o r elderly people will experience the greatest expansion. The recommendation for 75%/25% provincial/municipal funding for these services will place an inequitable financial burden on the municipal tax base. Given the financial constraints already experienced by municipalities, it can be easily assumed that many municipal governments will be both unwilling and unable to meet the community's needs for child care and community based services. Thirdly, we are troubled by the vagueness of the PHSSR report in respect to jurisdictional responsibilities in the n o rth. The report provides no clarification of what the "municipal sector " means in Northern Ontario. Thus we cannot adequately anal~=e the PMSSR from a Northwestern Ontario perspective. \·le are als o concerned about the demand that the municipal sector assume the planning responsibility. This would impose increased financial burdens on the municipal tax base. Copies of our brief may be obtained form the NWORDCC offi ce . .. .... ... . . .. .. . .. . .. . . .. . .. . . . ???????????????????????????????????????... . . . . . . . �' 9 PLAYGROUND EQUIPt1IENT GUIDE ISN'T DEALING WITH FIRE CONCERNS The Canadian Standards Association has recently released a 120 page report containing extensive information for playground equipment, including surface guidelines requirements, standards for playground equipment construction, standards for areas surrounding the equipment and measurements for head and neck entrapment. Evidence given at a Dryden inquest a year ago underlined the urgency of the CSA standards which were completed last April, after three years of work by CSA officials. However, recommendations for non-flammable playground equipment will not be part of new standards to be published by the Canadian Standards Association, despite the severe burning of a T irnmins child at a municipal playground last November. Eight year old Jennifer Marsh of Timmins suffered second and third degree burns after a three foot plastic tunnel that she had been playing in caught fire. She was admitted to a Sudbury hospital. Parts of the melted half inch walled tunnel were sent to Toronto to the forensic laboratories. The rest of the plastic tunnel and accompanying plastic slide were sent to the Ontario Fire College 1n Gravenhurst for flammability testing. Referring to the wood and tires adjacent to the plastic tunnel o n the playground apparatus, Burt Schaffer, the Timmins fire chief, said "Nothing can be burned without someone igniting it". �• 10 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.D.C.C. P.O. Box 144 Thunder Bay, Ont. P7C 4V5 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, 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: _ _ _ _ _ _ Fee Enclosed _ _ _ __ Category: A 8 _ __ c _ __ ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Thankyou 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, February 1991 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News February 1991. Includes information about the Annual Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Forum; new elementary school for Lakehead District Roman Catholic Separate School Board; Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Child Care; U-Turn Proposal by the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; child care funding and child care subsidies announcement from the Ministry of Community and Social Services Zanana Akande; A Personal Perspective of Child Care in Sweden by Teresa Legowski; release of Canadian day care cost statistics from Runzheimer; Canada Inc.; child care expense tax deduction; Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee response paper to the Provincial Municipal Social Services Review (PMSSR); playground equipment standards from the Canadian Standards Association. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Northwestern Ontario Regional Child Care Association Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02 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_91feb 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/495184ecbd0ef63599e85a91b02280b0.pdf 6a080692f568bd1ed0b7932f7823ddb9 PDF Text Text Northvvestern Ontario Day Care Nevvs JULY '86 We are pleased to advise that we recently received a grant from Secretary of State Women's Programs which al lows us to continue our activities, including publication of the newsletter and the planning and organization of the regional chi Id care forum(s). public hearings have now been completed. The Special Committee is expected to table its report in the fal I. Ask your federal member of par I iament to keep you informed of the progress of the Special Committee. ******************************************** NWO DAY ~ARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout Northwestern Ontario, as wel I as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmenta I po Ii cy / I eg is Iat ion and with advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter wi I I combat some of the isolation that day care workers and advocates feel and that through sharing resources, ideas and action plans we can develop strategies to ensure the growth and strengthening of quality day care in our reg ion. We welcome submissions to this newsletter from every day care centre and committee throughout Northwestern Ontario. Please send art i c I es, newsc I i pp i ngs, Ietters, etc. to Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4V5. WARMEST CONGRATULATIONS to each and every one of you who made presentations to the federal government's Special Committee on Chi Id Care hearings in Dryden and Thunder Bay. Parent groups, day care workers, administrators, politicians, women's groups, native organizations, labour representatives, individual parents everyone gave impressive representation and you should al I be proud of yourselves. The Special Committee certainly heard strongly and clearly - the day care issues in Northwestern Ontario and the needs of our children. But now we must keep monitoring the activities of the Special Committee and keep pressing for action on the recommendations we have made. The CITY OF THUNDER BAY ESTABLISHES ADVISORY COMMITTEE We would like to congratulate City Counci I for establishing its Chi Id Care Advisory Committee. The committee is made up of representatives from counci I and city administration, parents from day care centres and private home day care, and the president of the Thunder Bay Advocates for Qua I ity Chi Id Care. The objectives of the advisory committee are "to investigate issues and developments related to chi Id care in the City of Thunder Bay and to advise the Community Services Committee of the Corporation of the City of Thunder Bay". Some of the issues the Advisory Committee hopes to tackle in the near future include the indirect subsidy, fee increases and enrollment-based fees. We hope that this committee wi I I be beneficial to the operation of the city's day care services and the decision making at City Hal I. DAY CARE VIDEOTAPES CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN AND MANY THANKS TO SIOUX LOOKOUT AND MARATHON for their participation in the video project! The Ontario Coalition for Better Day Care, through an Ontario Women's Directorate grant, sponsored the project which resulted in the production of videotapes portraying the situation of day care in ten diverse communities of the province. Northwestern Ontario was al lotted two of the ten tapes. Sioux Lookout was chosen �(2] as representative of an established day care that was threatened with closure because of the indirect subsidy withdrawal. Marathon was selected as the second site because it is one of the newest day care programs in the region and demonstrates the problems faced and the commitment required of a nonprofit parent organization working di I igently to provide high qua I ity day care for their children. Thanks to the expertise of Monitor North, coupled with the enthusiasm of Sioux Lookout and Marathon day care people (and Fiona and Margaret's newlylearned editing ski I Is), we have two fine day care videos. You may wish to borrow these videos for information/ education purposes. Contact Jan Garden, Marathon Day Care; Janet Wilkinson, Box 177, Sioux Lookout; or the NWO Regional Day Care Committee, Box 144, Thunder Bay. PROVINCIAL CONCERNS DECEMBER 31, 1986 looms closer and closer, and sti I I no word about new provincial policy that could save our centres from closure. In the provincial budget speech, the treasurer announced that Ontario would request the federal government to negotiate new policies to make day care a public service. While this is a positive direction, we al I know that federal-provincial negotiations are a ti me-consuming process. It wou Id not on I y be ironic, but tragic, if positive new day care pol icy was put into effect after our centres have been forced to close. We need action now to ensure the stabi I ity of our existing centres. The provincial day care Pol icy Review has not been made public. Ask your MPP what the status of the Review is. RED LAKE UPDATE The day care centres in Red Lake, Ear Fal Is and Balmertown have received COMSOC funding to develop publicity materials to promote their services. A 24 page handbook for parents, which includes professional photos and children's drawings, is currently being compiled and wi I I go to the pub I isher in the next few weeks. The handbook wi 11 be distributed by al I three centres in the fal I. The pub I ication attempts to answer the questions every parent asks when enrol ling a chi Id in care, while also explaining the goals and benefits of group day care. In our community, many people sti I I don't understand what day care is and what benefits it can offer fami I ies. The project represents a cooperative effort to boost public relations and address, in a positive way, the chronic problem of declining enrollment at the centres in our area. ******************************************* NEWS ITEMS THE LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA wi I I be holding a pol icy convention this fal I. We understand that a position on day care wi I I be developed at this convention. Please contact the Liberal Party representatives (especially convention delegates) and inform them of the needs, problems and solutions to the day care situation. Make sure they have a copy of your brief to the Special Committee. We have been advised that ONTARIO ATTORNEY GENERAL IAN SCOTT, WHO IS ALSO MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR WOMEN'S ISSUES, wi I I be visiting various Northwestern Ontario communities in September. (We believe Kenora, Dryden, Fort Frances, Grassy Narrows and Thunder Bay are included in his itinerary.) Plan to have day care spokespersons attend these meetings. It is important that Mr. Scott is made aware of our particular NWO day care concerns. THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND LOBBY OF THE ONTARIO COALITION FOR BETTER DAY CARE wil I be held in Toronto, October 24-27, 1986. It is important that as many NWO delegates as possible attend this conference to ensure our perspective is heard. It is a Iso import ant that we have the opportunity to share with and learn from other day care advocates - such meetings provide new energy to carry ori our important work. We are uncertain what subsidies may be available, so al I of us may have to think of raising some funds to assist our Northwestern Ontario delegates. �[3] REGIONAL FORUM(S) I Plans for the regional forum(s) are progressing. we are sti I I looking for your input to decide whether there should be one or two forums. We believe that we should hold the forum(s) as soon as possible, as it is urgent that we determine what action we must collectively take - particularly around the issue of indirect subsidy. We ask anyone who has not yet returned the planning survey to do so (a copy of the survey is enclosed). Detailed plans concerning the forum(s) wi I I be sent to you within a month. ********************************************* Response to our planning survey received to d~te indicates that Financial Stability of Centres is the most important issue for the majority of you. Relations with the provincial government, day care workers' concerns, and development of parent groups are also priority items. CONFIRMATION OF A GRANT FROM THE ONTARIO WOMEN'S DIRECTORATE to assist the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee in carrying out research and pub I ic education initiatives has just been received. That assistance is gratefully acknowledged. Local repre~E~n~~!tYi~~wf~l9[~§p day-care issues ,,-. ' By Holly Ruperl The Special Committee on Child Care, a seven-member federal task force studying day-care services acrosa Canada, made a one-<lay stop in Dryden May 12. The committee's tenm of reference call for a review of the quality and availability of"'non-parental" care, the economic implicatio111 of child care, and the role of the federal government in the provision of care. The Dryden hearin'gs repr• sented a critical opportunity for pa• rents and day-<:are advocates in the northwest region to make their • --~ :...,. ,... _.. -:!fi: , ,~· _ "Cllolce Important" . Whenever the day-are isaue is. discussed, emphas11 11 alwaya placed on the importance of choice. People believe parents should be rr.e to choose the_ kind .of care they want for their_ch1ldren. Yet, given the current s1tuatton, parents do not always have a real choice when it comes to finding child For instance, parents have little choice if their children are noteligible for formal group day care. • The two municipally-run daycare centres that serve the Red Lake district in Red Lake and Balmertown, lack an infant-toddler program for children under two and care. an 1nt_egrated _p rogram to acco_mmodate special-needs chi I, ' dren. This meana many families in , .' • ~-~ .. :.- - I Only about 15 per cent of Canadian cliildren receive care in the formal day-care system. Rather than expand the system, both the federal and provincial govern• ments seem anxious to find the informal day-ean, market. A babysittet-, relative or neigh- f ,1 • • , i .'. 1• bor_- in short, anyone who cares • - -1. ~.j,:.''""' · · • .' •.~-- ~~,,;;"'i' • . ~ ., . concema known. Groups from Red Lake, Dryden, • Sioux Lookout and Fort Frances, among others, made submiasio111 to tire committee. The Red Lake delegation was small. I addresaed the committee as, a day-ean, parent and as a council member of the Ontario Coalition for Better Day Care, a Torontobased provincial lobbying group. I was joined by Rhona Karschti, a former day-are supervisor in Yel• lowknife, N.W.T., now living in Red Lake. . Together we tried to provide some understanding of the problems parents needing child care face in our area. As the committee will discover, they are problems parents are facing acrose the country. .. - ' • ~ " ~ ·'- · ':' I ~•• "-11 JMneltlJ Kclltynuk, a chHd-ca,e worlce< at Red Lake day-ca,e centre, takes "18 of Ta,yn Vachotl. Thirty.four children regularly attend day C819 in Red Lake. ' our area do not have accesa to the services provided in those centres. Both centres are working to provide the best service they can given their budget and·space restrictions. While program expansion is ::!i!/!'; ~!~1r:~• without an Under the existing system, the only way to get new long-term funding ia to raise fees. That would mean adding substantially to the financial burden day-care parents already carry. . • • In fact, the high coot· IS the main reason a great many parents cannot afford formal day care. Although all three levels of govemment help to fund day care, we have essentially a user-pay syatem. typically, parents must pay $2,000-5,000 per year for a licensed day-ean, space in Ontario. High fees have me.,;t that across thecountry,daycareisfactbecom• ing a commodity for the rich t who can afford full feesl and a -welfare service for those with low incomes (who are eligible for a subsidy 1. It's the middle-income families, whose earnings are not low enough to allow them to qualify for subsidy, who are hurt the most under the existing system. The user-pay system has thrown day-are services int.o a crisis situa• tion and small municipally-run centres are particularly at risk. Because many parents cannot for a child in his or her own homeis part of the informal care system. The informal is largely unregulated, making it almost impossihie to ensure good quality care. For parents who cannot find or afford formal care, placing their child in someone's home becomes the only available choice. To fully regulate informal care. ensuring quality care, would be a massive undertaking. Some daycare advocates believe the government might attempt it as a cheap alternative to improving the formal day-care system. It would not be cost efficient t<> fund the informal market at the expense of existing formal services. Already many day-care facilities across the country are not being used fully because of the critical re, lationahip between fees and enrolment. Taken together. the comments oi witnesses appearing before the special committee in Dryden made one point very clear: Parents need da) care; they want to see existing services protected and expanded. The federal government has an obligation to provide the direction and funds to stengthen the day- care services offered in individua1 communities. and in so doing, develop a day-care system that meet, the needs of all Canadian families The Special Committee on Chile afford day care. enrolment has Care will continue its hearing unu dropped, which in turn means daily late June and its report is due to b.fees must rise to cover the cost of tabled by November. The commil staffing and running the centre. It tee will accept written submission~ becomes a vicious cycle that can jeopardize the quality of care the children receive. The only way out. according to many day-care advocates. includ• ing those who made submissions to the Special Committee on Child Care. is a federal funding scheme that would see new dollars flowing into the svstem for each· licensed day-care space. from any concerned individuals or groups until June 2. These shouk be forwarded to The Clerk. Specia Committee on Child Care. Suit 308 151 Sparks St. Committees anc Private Legislation Branch. Houst of Commons. Ottawa. Ont. Kl,> 0A6. Holl.-.Rupert 1s a da_v-careadL·oeat, and freelance writer living lake. in Rec �[4] Day-aue funding was an issue repeatedly nused during public hearings conducted by the Special Parliamentary Committee on Child Care May 12 at the Best West.em Motor Inn in Dryden. Among those making presentations to the committee were representatives. of the Dryden Day-Care Centre, the Dryden . Day-Care Parents Group and the Norah Love Children'sCentre in Siowt Lookout. . ' Heather Corner, supervisor of the Dryden Day-Care Centre, told the committee, "During the years when couples are raising their families, t.ieir income is the lowest and their household costa are the highest in relationahip to that income. ., __2~ couples are trying to ·.,............, a home, pay a mortgage, raise a family and genera1; ly start a life. Today, many couples find they bot.h have to work to maintain the household. "l'hrough aft'ordable day-aue programs,• she said. "this can be accomplished.• Ms. Comer said direct sub, sidies will take effect in Dryden Jan. 1, 1987, "and we have tried to come to grips with this problem. • "We have loet approximately 20 children because of the implementation of direct subsidy.• Noting that day-care costa have rilien due tocleclinin« enrolment from $19.30 in Novemller of 1983 to $27.22 in November o{ 1985, Ms. Corner recommended that for parents in need. funding should be 20 per cent municipal and 80 per cent federal/provincial, and parents not in need should provide 55 per cent themselves, with 10 per cent from the municipality and 35 per cent from the federal and municipal governments. Jeri Tymura, spokesman for the Dryden Day-Care Parents Group, said. "I'he need for aff'onlable quality care for our children is real, yet this care is not accessible for reasons of aft'onlability, availability and the lack of 0exibility within the fragile support system that exists ,;ww." ' She told the ci:rmmittee, "If child<are services are limited to certain children, whether the criteria be the age or. ability of the child. or the 6nancia1 status of the family, t.hen the purpose of day care has been forgotten.• By pricing day-aue services beyond the means of middle income families, said Ms. Tymura, "we are reducing its chance. of survival." In conduaion, sbe told the committee, "There muat be a longt.erm commitment to aft'ordable, quality child care in Canada. "There muat be a concerted effort to eetabliah a reasonable and consistent means of supporting our existing child<are faci!i; ties. There muat be in place a sy&t.em by which the private sector. whether it be by business or industry, (can) establiah child care in the workplace.• Saying it would be "disastrous to- see what bu evolved disappear," Ms. Tymura apresaed hope that the committee will come up with some tlnn reeolutions and direction for the future. A written brief pre.nted by the parents committee of the Norah Love's Children's Centre in Sioux Lookout. stat.es, "Our children are not a social burden - they are an investment.• The centre usually has a waiting.list of about 10 children. but the brief state&. "Although we need more-cay<are services. our moat urgent concern is that we will lea lhllM we already have. "IC need be,. it suggeeta, •cut back on welfare programs that serve adults; had their childhood been bettar, they may not have needed help as adults.• Accompanied._by 13 individual letters. the Norah-Love submission states, • At our day-<:are, many of the children are from middle-income eaming families. "Without funding, fees for 'these parents would increase to $25 or ,$30 a day. Moat ,would have to -it other, lea, satisfao. t.ary- child care 8ffllllgemmta. If theN parents withdraw their children, there would not be enough others to keep the day care open. Thus the service would be loet to the poor, the rich and the special needs children.. 'Recommendations in the brief include providing a comprehensive day-aue system, "which P= vides numerous options to fami. lies, including leaves, infant care, latch key programs, toddler and pre-school care 80 that caring parents can make the best choice for their children and their economic condition.• The committee will erid its croaa-eountry hearings near the end of June and will table a report on its findinp to the House of Commons in November. • l RED lAKE DISTRICT NEWS. MAY 1986 ·1n China some parents send their· children to "week care." A firefighting team from China visited the Red Lake Day-Care Centre May 8. 'The children were excited with their guests and pleased with the opportunity to sing their repertoire ofsongs. Their Chinese guests were impresaed bJ the centre - and the children. There are dilferences in day care • like a lot of everyday things • between Chins and Canada, according to Ding Haicheng and Piao Jimbe. "Some parents drop oft' children to day care centres during the daytime and pick them up in the even• ing," Ding explained. "Some centres are different • parents drop oft' children on Monday and pick them up on Saturday." . He explained that this type of childcareisfor~olderchildren who look after themselves.• He explaiiled that this situation happens particularly with younger couples in which both. parents work during:_ can the day and go to school in the evenings. "ln Chins the young couples like to study," Piso Jimbe added, to in• crease eaminp. • Ding said that generally day care centres in China are similar to the one .in Red Lake, "but there are • more of them and more kids." "In China.• he said. "the children are grouped in classrooms scoording to age because there are ;o many children." He explained that most far.1ilies have only one child in Chins. Day care centre supervisor Lee Moorley explained what the children eat at the day care centre. "Do the children order their own dishes," ssked one member of the delegation. After singing their guests an enthusiastic selection of songs the children listened· as the men returned the favor. Each child was presented with a Panda bear lapel pin. The Panda is the official symbQI of China. • Norah Lqve Children's Centre: DRYDEN OBSERVER, MAY '86 Day-care cos~s cause concern Day-care for pre-school chi!- Ms. Wilkinson told the ~mmit- usually carries a waiting list of dren "muat be accesail!le to every- tee, "This is not a woman's issue. about 10 children, Ms. Wilkinson one," Janet Wilkinson. president "Ibis is a children's issue. It is said. • Although we need more of the Parents' Committee of the their well-being which is at day..:are services, our most urNorah Love Children's Centre in stal:e. Therefore, if it is given gent concem is that we will lose Siowt Lookout, told the Special that women will' be out of the those we already· have." Parliamentary Committee on home(orwhateverreason.young Many day-care children are Child Care during its May 12 children must be given the best from middle-income earning public hearings in Dryden. care and nurturing that can be families; she said. Ms. Wilkinson attended the substituted. ''Without funding, fees for hearings along with fellow Sioux "l'his is an all-encompassing these parents would increase to Lookout area representatives goal but better that than to lose $25 or $30 a day. Most would Deanna Koval,· day<are super- forever the enthusiasm and have to seek other, less satisfacvisor; Madeline Blum; Gamet creativity of early· childhood to tory child<are arrangements. ff Angeconeb; Delma Clace and our society," she said. these parents withdraw their Margie Perroa. "Consequently, your commit- children, there would not be Anticipated federal cutbacks tee must look at program re- enough others to keep the dayto day-care subsidies have re- moved from welfare that wtll care open. Thus the service suited in the province's decision serve all children.• would be lost to the poor, the rich to only. fund those 'day-care _ __Ms~ Wilkinson said..chil~ll _· and the special needs children." clientswhoqualifyforfullorpar- aze"aninvestment"asop~~ Among the recommendations tial subsidies through a special a "social burden" and suggeste\l, . the parents' committee made at needs test. "IC need be, cut back on welfare the hearings is "a comprehensive Margaret Mitchell, Vancouver programs that serve adults; had day-om, system which provides East MP and a committee mem- their childhood been better, they numerous options to families. inber, said the day12re system "is msy not have needed help as eluding leaves. infant care. latch for the rich or for the poor" and adults." key programs, toddler and prethat middle-income workingpeoTelling the committee the school care 80 that caring parents pie don't really have any means Norah Love Centre serves about can make the best choice fur their of funding at all. 75 parents using 48 full-time children and their economic , Reading from a written brief, spaces for children and that it situation." • �• Federal government must be convinced more mon.ey needed for child care By 10-ANN MUIALICH Qnalcle-J-- lh.c Cfhronidt•Journ11l w - , , ...,1c,ia Tbo federal 1over1mo1t muat be "coovinced" that IIIOft mooey hu to beplaced i• cbild care illclucllnl ntra ar■ ats for Nortbera Ontario comm• nlUes, says a member of the Federal · ~~•Uamentary Committee•: MP Marpret Mltcbell lNDP•V - : ver Eull also said Ille recammeodl the • federal 1ovemme111 establllh day care lelislaUOll tbat will elimloola the CID-ada Assistance Piao and place day care under 1 , _ act wblcb mikes II available to families of all lacoma. ==-- ==·:~ ine~ la l o ~ c:llild care ill li&ht of tbe sibility for care 1mq parents, tbe prt. vate sector, the voluntary sector and 1ovemmenll. In developin' ■ lteru- ~1:e!~~'!n~~ ~U:toe:=: the special circumstances of v■riOUI families u well u tbe fuwx:ill implica•• Uons ol any sovenment lniUatives.Following i:::talionl b y - • 111 CJl!ID· ~ allocaled duri!I& 11111, •cb...:.. "Mell mt <Ultry to 1111d ,.___, Bui sometimes, we feel that we don't hive freedom 11 aU! " lbesaid. • _Wally Mcltly, executive director of Tillinlpn Child and Family Services ill Siowi _Lookout diSCUlled tbe need for appropruate communlty-bued child care facilities in the area ae"ed by lhe ~the ~time. tbereareaoday care or child care pn,cnnw 11 all ill our reaion- We iqt tbe federal--~~ t b e ~ l o f cbildcare procnma bent and eornc1 11111 1aeqlllty," Mid llcXay, IDdlaa ..... nlulloa ..,... nearly 10,000 Cree and Ojibwa natives llvilJC ill the Nor1II lnllll Thunder Bay to Hudloll Bay Call but of tbe communlllel ID Ille recion are,:r:only. ullfor't:::!:""'-i::-..= of the communl~•- McKay aaya aeveral cnmmualUea ba,.. told them Ibey bave DOI been ableto ........ uwadiDI or uW development taacblDl........,.. beca... "the-wbo expreu _ _ , . t ca1111a1 find ad•' 111111todaycarelarlbelr-." Slallsl'Wllllf aodl'byllla Dadloy fllwi lD f._ lie 'l'Nul Lau to..,_. their female Cne COllllllllllilJ-111& Trour. Lake, located 400 mllea aortbeaal of ~ Bay, la allo la . . . . . . need I Tht of 111e community repn1in& cbild care mllll be a factor ID tbe de- l llvery of aervice, Miller explained. The ''Toronto" nperiencesbould DOI dictate :re&ulatory meuurea. lle&ional dlaparl,Uea mllll be lalrea lalocoasideralion. lllBer-:T'onner city mayor,added lbal thecnmmi-ooecla torecapizalbalill mrtberD citiea 1ucb u TlwDder Bay, hi&her COiia for fOlld and healillfl create hl&her facility costs, tbua hi&her per dlema. Salartea of cUenll are DOI aec:• eautily bi&ber, sbe said. A special Northern remicuon should be induded ID the per diem formula. , ,, ..,. ' ! ,. t I, ' 'I. ,. .,,, . : :· ," 'f '. . "' •. ·, Karbtedt aaid lbat Ille atabwty oc nl~=carecenlrelcaaonlybeaccom by Ille reducllon ti mer cbarled to parents. • "We, IMrefora, l'COIIIIDelld lbal Ille f - . i aovenimeat immediately vide direct .....,11 to municipal and ...,. profit day care centres to atabllize the ailliq aenlce and enaure the contlaaod..,enlionof thecenlrel." Karlsllldl apc,te about 1be silllalloo of rural famllleo. Resean:11 baa llllicated =t~~;en~•..::i::-i:;: or r~ with them wbile Ibey wort., •:ii:~:r =~u.:: ~y b6la':rcf;!~0 wamen are often rellrlcted from allellclmNllap became of loodequato cbild can and/or lack of llDaac9 lDl farm l o x : ~ ~ =·:.. ..... be UID ''llrllu---." uidKarla, .Jedi. Tbe N.W.O. llelillllAI Day Can Cocamllloe hu aludlecf tbe Report ot the Tau Force on Cllild care. chalrecl by Dr. KalleCooke-. Tbecnmmilleeaareo,I with mnat-ol Ibo recommuclail... • made ID lhat report. llanlhlll'• Can! Vie,' a - t r denlopalaal worter and Ju Garden, bmlDeaa admlnlstrlar for Ille Marathon Day Care Centre DOied lbal ,,_ .,. Q lely-W tollnaace - lD- Ille y-care centre, localed of Ille Penlecostal Church. •, . :\1h·/1 ' _.,y r:=::::;~-~~-..:-...::~~i:;:.:,;~~ many ot,. are siDgle parent women between 15 and 21 years iii aae. So tbe need for &Olld cbild care facWllea 11111 more lillelytoiacralelDBIC'l'l'Oal~lllaa- dac~==!fectea:·~com• THUY LY Thuy Ly. CO--OnllDIIOr of the Immigrant Women·• Employment Place in Thunder Bay toJ!lf the committee it'• "not (air" for low income earners to pay the same price for day care u hi&h iJI. come earners. She said most immi• grants see day· care "an expensive thing." The needs of immigrant women. i~';;!~~ es4.i:~~~! ~i~'in.m in 1980 with her husband and two children. She said Ibey departed from their homeland for freedom, which they lhou&hl , they would obtain here. Bui Ibey louad . otherwase. • =-~:.ii~ be llaibili% ~ the nature of ~~ e l l u acl~~r~.;' exi3.""=of~ dressin& of day care ladiaa need■ communlllea should not be subject to JurlsdicUon dlaputa·i.c- federal and en,vincial 1overnmen1a. -· - ThWICler Bay alderman Dua1y lllller, cbairmaa of the community aervica committee told tbe live-member panel tbal tbe lederal aovernmenl must establish a standardized formula ill determiain& tbe per diem u well u eliminate iJI. din!ct adminiltraUve COiia from tbe per diem formula. FIONA KARLSTEDT Tbe Nar11nN11ent Oalulo ReciOllll Day Care Commiltee, represented by Fiona Karlltedt, told Ille lederal•appolaled committee that ID illveatmenl m tbe well-bela& of cbildren and IIIDi• lies mall:• social and econctlDic sense. The commilmenl~ ll tbe development of a com ive child care syatem that woul meet tbe aeecls of all children and lamiliea. "We Nquire a child care syatem lbal la accessible to au familiea irrespective of their economic 1111111, their employ• . ment status or their 1eocraphic residence," noted Karlsledt. N.W.0. lla vutre&ionandlaaerviced by approximately 12,000 mile■ of hitlh• way Witb many communities accessiile only by rail or air. Approximately 236,000 people live io one city, seven towns, 36 towashipo, three improvement districts, 51 lndiaa reserves and 73 rural communities. "Of the 171 communlliea ill N.W.O., only II provide day care service■," she said. :;"'~ ,/,:-·; .--•-~,- , ~ MONIQUE MORGAN-MERCIER AND JORDIN BONIFERRO . .,.lime to play dulq aaamiltee) Ilaria& hen .!~.:r~ti;. of wily lbla la a prior• ity form, let me note that relaUve to tbe rest of Ille Canadian population, our populalioa ill BIC Trout Lake la very youa1. 1•1 Cenaus n..,.... &bow tbat aver 60 per cent of. our popwltioa ii .i BEV ROMANIUI ~~ .;g,.=:.i:...~.::.• loooilllfl,0001 mOGlh. e.. Bomantut, social ■enlcea •clmlnislntor for tbe Town ot Geraldton pleaded with tbe cnmmillN lo not place day care out ol reachlor middle incnm• families ID ■mall N.W.O. communltiea: Romanluk said middle illcnme earner■ are tbe "backhoae" of our tu bueand already pay more !baa lbeir lhlre for tbeae aervicea. "Ontario la llvlnl IOUlbera and eul• ern Onterlomore subaldlied apace■ . Give Northern Ontario back iadirecl ~~~- ~ =~lloo ■ee DWIJ of ,a bavilJC lo cloleCNlf mmB due to lack of enrolment u day can becomes more and more unaffordable. We do not hive enoup community-baaed service■ for our people-,"~ said. la • ..,-...- - . ..., doa DOI llllllll lbe ooec1a of Iba pubjlc, said Judilh MoacralD, president ot the Caudiaa Unlocl ot Public Employ-. Local rl. M_.ia, local ~ reaenla about IOO member■ told Ille , cnmmlltee lD Tbuader Bar, service■ provided 11 the mualclpa day care level, an~totallyforlholewwt• lnlda,o. • "There la DOI adequate fundillll naU• able for cblld care .._1oa to lacludt tbe aeecls of famillea wllh lhlll woe!<· era," she said, IIOllag lbal tbe majority of local f - must 11W dellODd on iJI. formal or private care u city service■ do DOI amrnr lbelr-. • -llyabotb_pd_ ment must •ye tbe cbiJd CIJ'e illue to see wbal w, be dOGe, "tbe best way." Sbe said tbe federal aovernment la alao employer and Iba! OPSEU expect, .. a leadership role" io Je1isl1tive chaqea, which then would lead to • ' tudinal c:ban&e- ID =.:::f:1:~~ cial~~ Pllbllc Service Employees Ualoa la one of seven women ...,.....iilli 51,GOO public aervlce employees ill the proviace. Roui told Ille paMI of 11Pa lbal unm bave barpiDiDI for day care for sometime. " II hu ID luue lhal hu been foupl both al tbe baruinlDI table■ and ill le&ialabnl acrau tbe ""'811ry. However, perbapa like medicare and pensm, unlom will bave to will child care al the barpininS lablea before lecia• latms will be pnaured to acL" . ....... u, ...... �• 20 THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL: Salurday. Ma)'24. 1!186 Should informal hqme day care be regulated by government?_ TORONTO <CP) - Diane belongs to lD underpowld, seU-employed worldon:e that makes hundreds of mUlioas of dollars a year. She la one of an unknown number of l'"!'Pie who provide day care In their homes for an estimated 400,000 children of •onlna parents In Onta• rtoalone. Of!H out of desoeraUon, parents lurn to people Uke Diane because of :::-::::a~. a~~f.':.l"'~:'/f.C:: ~--~iw'J:.S:~:,~ :.::liccentre. • Diane, who didn'I want her last name used, cares for seven children at her Toronto home and doesn't declare her Income. Under Ontario's Day Nunertea Act, she should only be handling a maximum of five children, Including DO more than three kids under three years old and two under lhe ac• of two. To care for moni than nve children requires a licence. Bui Diane doesn't have a licence for her Informal day-care operation and DO level of government II aware of what sbe's doing. MOST UNREPORTED P~blic support for day c-are r:ivals other issues, poll finds !!•:•, Canadian Presa ,,,tc, Ofi:AWA " ~ •• •. Three out of lour Canadians say child care Is an Important Issue that should be high on government priorlty -lists, according to a poll comm issloned In June by Canada's two largest unions. •'Ihe poll sponsored by the Canadilln-Union ol Public Employees and Ille National Union ol Provincial Gelrernment Employees also sbawed a majorltx of people favor .,..eminent suppott for non-profit daf care centres over profit-making OQWprises. --Kami Stotsky, a research omcer for CUPE, said the results conflrrqed and "substantially supported the views that we've had on the 111.. •of day can,, particularly the lmpoi:tance ol day care to the pul>llc.c _-:•• -~A.' lot of times people feel child e,u:,t is not as lm_portant as other halller economic Issues such as free tra~or matters of the economy," Ms SIOISky said. "But these results cle.arly show, I think, that child care is" a ·very important Issue to Canadiill1;i .and It's something that goveinments have to deal with and are e~ted to deal with." 'l'.ise Corbell-Vincent, a spokesman ..for the Canadian Day Care A~vocacy Association, said lhe findin&, · 4;onfirm what the special par. llamenlary committee on day care hdrd from hundreds of people ac,:o.s, the counlry during public h~arlngs this spring. 11\e poll, based on 1,200 !llndom teJepJtone Interviews between June 7-20 11Cilh people over age 18, found 311 pi!r. cent of respondents feel child 'ls very important comoared ~re~ with other Issues, while 37 per cent said It was somewhat Important. Women, younger people, parents with children under 8 years, those with lower Incomes, part-time workers and those "leaning tn federal politics toward the Liberals and New Democratic Party" were more likely to Dnd the issue very lmportant J.;.t over hall ol parents rated day care very Important, compared with 35 per cent of non-parents. Ms Corbell-Vincent said she Is pleased non-parents rate it as highly as they do. "Hopefully It's because people understand that children are Canada's most precious resource and something has to 'be done for the crisis that exists In Canada around child care," she said. Other poll results, accurate wtthIn plus or minus three percentage points 95 llmes out of 100, varied liltie between parents and non-parents. Sixty-one per cent felt day-care money should go to child-care cenIres run by non-profit groups. Only 18 per cent supported more centres run by government and 13,per cent favored more public dollars spent on centres nm by companies for profit. And 58 per cent ol Canadians felt government 1noney would be beller spent• on more non-profit centres rather lhan subsidies paid to paren1s lo lake time oll work lo care for lheir awn children. Thirty-two per cent favored subsidies. . Ms Slotsky said the unions will 5end the results to the parllamenta. ry commluee. which has concluded Its public hearings and Is drafting·• report due tn November. A lludy by lhe Onlarlo CoaliUon For Better Day Care, a priv,te lobby group, indicales that 80 per cent of lhese Informal providers In lhe province lake !heir fees under lhe table, lgnortns any klnd of - · ~~iuatton isn't unique lo Onla· rlo -authorities aaree It applles In other provinces " Nobody knows much about lhem <home day•care worken>, aside from tbe fact lhey are mostly women who want to make a litUe money on lhe side," admlla Paul Sieme11s, manager of lhe children's unit at lhe Ontario Ministry of Communily aod Social Services. "We don't even know !heir numbers, and they areo'l telling qs because they don't want govenunent inl2rference... The ministry can only guess - by rough census calculations or the ::i~g~~~ c~s~ :;:i about 500,000 children In Onlarlo are receiving some form of day care. Further estlmales Indicate that only about 20 per cent of !hem, or 100,000, are In licensed day care. RAISE FEARS Horror stories abound at what happen, In some of the private homes u 10 children being kept In lhe basement where a teleYislon Is lhe real babysitter. And once In a while-a lragedy oceurs. . Last November In Bolton, near Toronto, a 49-year-old woman and lhe four childreo she WU looking af. ter died of smoke lnhalaUon when Ore swept lhrough her home. A con,ner's inquesl revealed lhe woman t:M:-:r~.':'"a:"r:i~':':1~.!: amounts of anU-depressant and diet drugs, malting her Incapable of reacting lo lhe emergency. 1bese revelations came u a shock to lhe parents, who from their Um• ited knowledge of lhe woman's Ille had beeo sslisfied with lhe aA"1!fll• menl • ''Tbere:s always a cUns.,. kind of fear In lhe back of your mind that somethJng's going to go wrong, " ssys Brigette Vlanna, admlnlslra· Uve assistant with lhe Ontario Status or Women Council, who at one time had her soa in private home care. BEOIOOSEY Erika Baker, who cares for nve chlldreo at her home near Toronlo, says parents "Just have to be a lilUe more chooly. • ta;~t~.::~~~ be a reason. I have to keep very sbict records In order to claim expenses. But I do have to pay Income . tax at lhe end of lhe year and thal's • why moat people don't give out recelpla . . . Ibey don't wanl to give up that money at lheend of lhe year." However, many day-care crillcs 111119 that parents often have HIiie choice about where they can place their children. Vluna finds fault with lhe whole government philosophy of providing subsidized formal day care-for lhe _ . but UWe for lhe middle clus. ''There ia a huge gap," she says. ~~':lr:i::t;1!-'"u!"!~i!'i: =L.C:l'!'~~~~~~--~or COST IS LOWER A space In a day-care cenlre cao coot $5,000 a year, while unlicensed home care usually coots much less. Although Linda Becker feels lortunate to hive her two.year-old daughtet under Baker's care, she acknowledges lhe uneasiness of first seeking out home day care. "Here I wu, beainl a woman to take my child and filidn'teven know her," says Secker. "But I was relerred to her by a friend and I went over to see her house and talked to her for qullea bit. • " Whal I 111ink when I hear hon-or stories Is, 'Thanll God I have Jodie where she is."' A parliamentary committee on day care currenUy making Its way around the country has found thal many parents are staunch supporters of home day care. IN NEIGHBORHOOD • " People pref'er day care to be in - their neighborhood· and in more familiar surroundings." says Shirley Martin, the Conservative MP for ~::;,''!,::: ~::: i~~Tj!;:::~t and will report to lhe House of Commons in November. "' And in other arus, such as rural communities, they see it as the best way to meet tbelt needs where no formal day carenlsts." • Noting thal lhe situation in Onla· rio la typical of lhe rest of Canada. Martin said she expects her group lo take a more far-ranging approach to the day-care issue than a recent federal task force beaded by sociologisl Katie Cooke. Last March, Cooke recomrilended a universal day-care system be established In lhe country. " I think a lot or people were scared off by the figures that were mentioned," said Martin, referring to an estimate in Cooke's report ol SIi billion for child care costs to all 1overnments. " We want to understand lhe various needs of parents and provide alternatives." Martin admits she doesn't kno-.· yet what slruelllre could be develo~ to screen home day-care provtders or how lhey would be encour aged to come forward and conduct lheirservices In theopen. But Baker isn'i sure any incen lives would be attractive enougl since "the bottom line is you're no· going to make a lol of moneyl pro vtdlng home day care. "You do it because you like kids otherwise you shouldn!I be doing i1 ataU. " °' � 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, July 1986 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News July 1986. Includes information about the Federal Government Special Committee on Child Care hearings; City of Thunder Bay Child Care Advisory Committee; Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Video Project; Provincial Day Care Policy Review; Red Lake Day Care news; Annual Conference and Lobby of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; NWO Regional Forum. 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 1986-07 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_86july 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 Lake https://digitalcollections.lakeheadu.ca/files/original/b7ec5779fa8ad801ff5bf1068f80ab19.pdf 9f829eb671fff8a957202156b1cca8c0 PDF Text Text II • - 4 Northwestern Ontario Day Care JUNE 1987 News NWO DAY CARE NEWS is a forum for the sharing of information between day care groups throughout Northwestern Ontario, as wel I as providing information about what's happening on the federal and provincial scenes, both in terms of governmenta I po I icy / Ieg is I at ion and advocacy groups' activities. We hope that this newsletter wi I I 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 qua I ity 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 RE-CONVENING THE FORUM - A SUMvlARY Northwestern Ontario regional day care representatives met in Thunder Bay on Apri I 24-25, 1987, to continue the process of collective Northwestern Ontario action to ensure the security and development of day care services in our region. The Forum began with reports from al I regional representatives, including the viewing of the video that the Geraldton Parents' Group produced. Delegates reported on the various local campaigns that had been organized fol lowing the September Forum, which involved massive letterwriting campaigns and telegrams to Premier Peterson, the Honourable John Sweeney, and Ioca I MPPs and MPs, as we I I as various local events to raise pub I ic awareness and enhance commun i'ty support. The comprehensive action taken by many communities was very impressive and produced position results. As Committee Chair Fiona Karlstedt told the gathering, "It was your letters, your petitions, your videotapes, your lobbies, your action that resulted in our meeting face-to-face with John Sweeney, Minister of Community & Social Services, to discuss our concerns fol lowing our September Forum. Although we didn't achieve our first goal - to get the provincial government to rescind the withdrawal of the indirect subsidy we can take credit (even if we can't prove it conclusively) for the implementation of the transitional grant which ensured the short term financial stab ii ity of our existing day care centres. We have proven that by working together, we can have an impact, we can make a very rea I difference. It's an uphi I I struggle most days, but if we al I stand together and don't lose sight of the broader and deeper vision of the ends to be served, we wi I I succeed in our efforts." The Forum was a hard-working session with workshops for Municipal and NonProfit day c~re people on Friday afternoon, and Commerc ia 1. Issue and Workers' Concerns workshops Friday evening. The Commercial Issue workshop participants viewed the video "Chi Id Care: The Price of Profit" and discussed the imp I ications of public funding of for-profit day care. Carrol Anne Sceviour, Director of Human Rights, Ontario Federation of Labour, was the guest speaker at the Friday evening dinner. Carrol Anne discussed labour's role in day care and the value of bui Iding coalitions to achieve day care goals. Saturday morning was information-gathering time with Julie Mathien (a Board member of the Canadian Day Care Advocacy Association) speaking about federal pol icy and the problems posed by the recommendations of the Special Committee on Chi Id Care. Sue Colley (Executive Coordinator of the Ontario Coal it ion for Better Day Care) then provided a provincial perspecti~e and discussed both short term and long term prov inc i a I issues that d-ay care �groups must address. These sessions provided Forum participants with a comprehensive information base from which to develop Northwestern Ontario action plans. At lunch Saturday, lain Angus, MP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, and Forum delegate, briefly addressed the gathering, indicating the value of continued advocacy by community groups to ensure that day care is adequately considered within the busy and diverse political agenda facing al I politicians. Saturday afternoon participants divided into workshops to plan Northwestern Ontario action for the next six months. Commitments were made by delegates for action in their local communities by (1) participating in the "Countdown for Child Care" petition campaign, and (2) planning local action in preparation for the forthcoming provincial election. The Forum resolved to send telegrams to Prem·ier Peterson, the Honourable John Sweeney, and Northwestern Ontario MPPs (1) to advocate for provincial direct grants to non-profit (including municipal) day care services, and (2) to oppose the provision of public funds to for-profit day care. In order to strengthen the ongoing work of the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee and to ensure more active involvement of regional representatives, Holly Rupert <Red Lake), Phy I I is Ke! lar (Fort Frances), Brenda Rikkonen (Thunder Bay), Judith Mongrain (Thunder Bay), Diane Sarrazin (Geraldton), Naomi Vodden (Marathon) wi I I join core Committee members Fiona Karlstedt, Liz Poul in, Joan Wi I Iiams and Margaret Phi I I ips in directing the activities of the Committee for the next six months. The Forum wi I I re-convene in the early fa! I of 1987. NOTE: If you wou Id I i ke more deta i Is about the workshop discussions and action plans formulated at th~ Apri I Forum, contact your Centre Supervisor who has a fu I I report. ( In Thunder Bay, contact Joan Wi I Iiams (Thunder Bay Advocates) at 767-9582.) NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO DAY CARE STUDY The two reports detailing results of the surveys of Northwestern Ontario Day Care Services and Northwestern Ontario Day Care Workers undertaken by our Committee are now available. We feel the reports provide a very useful data base from which long term planning - locally and regionally can begin. The Day Care Services report wil I be sent automatically to each person who completed the centre survey. Additional copies wi I I be available to any Northwestern Ontario person who wants one. The Day Care Staff survey report wi I I be sent to al I respondents who provided us with their name and address. Extra copies wi I I be sent to al I Centre Supervisors. Additional reports wi I I be available from the Committee (Box 144, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7C 4V5). A very sincere thank you to everyone who participated in the study. We hope it wi I I be helpful to you. ONTARIO COALITION FOR BETTER DAY CARE 5TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE & LOBBY Advance notice of the Coalition Conference and Lobby to be held November 6,7,8 and 9, 1987 has been received. We really hope to have a large delegation of Northwestern Ontario day care people attend this year's conference and lobby. Set aside the dates November 6 - 9, 1987 and p Ian to attend. LONGLAC Lots happening in Longlac. A Parents' Night was held in May where everyone enjoyed a delicious home-made supper. While the children watched fi !ms, the parents I istened to Supervisor Agnes Vincent explain the cha I lenges and concerns facing day care at present, viewed the video, "The Price of Profit", and discussed future letter-writing plan~. The children of the Long lac Day Care Centre recently sent an artistic, creative message to the Honourable �131 Mr. Sweeney. A col I age of children's drawings of their families was ~ent to the Minister with the message: ments put forward largely echoed those we al I made to the Special Committee on Chi Id Care last year. "Dear Mr. Sweeney: These families of the Long lac Day Care Centre would I ike to see direct grants implemented to maintain adequate funding to support the continued qua I ity care that exists at this centre. Our children like it here." The first presenter was Doug Miranda, the provincial NOP candidate for the Kenora riding. He spoke of the role day care plays in meeting the enrichment needs of children in smal I communities in which few other recreational programs are avai Iable. At the same time, he stressed that day care is an employment equity issue; when chi Id care is not available it becomes the key barrier to women entering the workforce. Miranda added that shift work is a fact of I ife in the North, yet our day care services do nothing to accommodate workers on this schedule. Longlac participated in the "Countdown for Chi Id Care" campaign, and future plans include having a booth at "Summerfest" in July. CHILD CARE: THE PRICE OF PROFIT The NWO Regional Day Care Committee has purchased the video "Chi Id Care: The Price of Profit" which is an excel lent vehicle to use to promote discussion of the commercial issue. This video is avai Iable for use by any Northwestern Ontario day care group. CHILD CARE UNDER DEBATE: REPORT ON THE CHILD CARE FORUM, DRYDEN, APRIL 21, 1987 - Holly Rupert On Apri I 21, representatives from the Ontario Federation of Labour brought their pre-election campaign on chi Id care to Dryden. They met local labour leaders and spent the morning discussing the commercial issue on the . local open I ine radio program. The real purpose for the visit was the evening forum on chi Id care sponsored by the OFL and the Ontario Coal it ion for Better Day Care. I participated as the OCBDC representative. About 25 people attended the forum and three formal briefs were presented to t'he pane I. While Carrol Anne Sceviour, the chief OFL spokesperson, reiterated concerns about public dollars going to commercial operators, this was not the focus of the forum from the standpoint of the other participants. Instead, the argu- Carol Wicks, President of the Women Teachers' Federation (FWTAO) in Kenora, was the first of two teachers to speak. She opened with the FWTAO pol icy statement on child care ratified in March 1987, which stated that al I children should have access to chi Id care programs with parents determining the level of each chi Id's participation. Wicks discussed the merits of establishing day care centres in schools as a way of improving the continuity of care, particularly for junior and senior kindergarten children. She also pointed to a successful pilot project for latch-key kids which the Windsor Board of Education has undertaken. She noted that, to date, none of these program improvements has been considered by the Kenora Board. The third brief was presented by Julie Notta, a Family Studies teacher at the Dryden high school. She pointed to the need for more day care spaces in Dryden and, I ike Carol Wicks, she felt the Board of Education could play a role in providing those spaces. Her discussion centred on a cooperative chi Id care program offered in the school setting and tied to senior Family Studies chi Id development and parenting courses. In this program, the Grade 11 and 12 Family Studies students become day care "teachers" who regularly interact with the children, under the s~pervision of their teacher and the centre supervisor. Pi lot programs have been successful in other communities, notably London, Ontario. �In the past, such programs have been funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services. Julie Netta saw this model as a useful way to provide nonprofit spaces, while working toward the neighbourhood hub model for child care services. When asked for my comments, I stressed that it was the continuing uncertainty of the provincial pol icy that was causing much anxiety for the municipal centres throughout the region. Centres which had manageable to healthy enrol 1ment have lost ground because of the uncertainty over fee increases. Bui Iding confidence among parents wil I take time. I ~lso stressed that lobby efforts can have a powerful impact and it is important not to underestimate that power. The efforts of the Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Committee on the indirect subsidy issue are the best case in point. It's valuable any time more than two people gather to talk about the day care issue. After the formal briefs were presented, there was a lot of worthwhile discussion around the day care issue. It was especially encouraging to identify some new supporters in Dryden and Kenora. thanks to Doris Rossi for her work in organizing this effort. (2) Countdown for Chi Id Care: This national petition campaign appealed to the federal government for direct funding to non-profit centres, rather than the tax credit system. The campaign culminated with local organizers across Canada stapling the petitions to a green ribbon and sending them off to Ottawa to be presented to the Prime Minister on June 18th. Hopefully, this demand for action wi I I positively affect the federal pol icy promised for the end of June. Loca I I y, our "Countdown for Chi Id Care" event took place June 13th at Waverley Park, - where 500 balloons were released high into the air by local dignitaries and children. (3) Ontario Coalition for Better Day Care: May 24, 1987 Meeting. This Counci I meeting was most interesting and informative with a variety of workshops offered and issues discussed. Ruth Wei Is was replaced on the Executive by Joan Wil Iiams. Discussions with others revealed once again the vast differences in municipal policies, as we! I as disparities in provincial pol icy and practices from one centre to another, and served to further reinforce our urgent need for a comprehensive, unified system. THUNDER BAY ADVOCATES - UPDATE PROVINCIAL POLICY (1) OFL Forum: The Ontario Federation of Labour has been working closely with chi Id care advocates to lobby the government to take responsibility for the chi Id care cr1s1s. To provide concerned people with an opportunity to voice their concerns and views, forums were held across the province during Apri I and May. A pub I ic forum was held in Thunder Bay on Thursday, Apri I 23rd, just prior to our own Northwestern Ontario Regional Day Care Forum. Thunder Bay Advocates provide~ their support and assistance in the organization of the Forum. We appreciate the priority given to the "Kids Not Cash" campaign, and we wish to extend our The long-awaited Ontario pol icy paper on day care, "New Directions for Child Care", was tabled in the legislature by the Honourable John Sweeney on June 4, 1987. "It's the first good news regarding day care in ten years" was Margaret's initial react ion. We hope we aren't being overly optimistic but from the statements reported it does appear that the government has I istened to the recommendations that parents, workers and other day care advocates have been putting forward. Mr. Sweeney stated "The government of Ontario has stated its commitment to �. . . bui I ding a comprehensive chi Id care system in this province - one that recognizes chi Id care as a basic pub I ic service, not a welfare service." He also acknowledged that" ... chi Id care is a necessity ... it is also essential to make the equality of women in the workforce a realizeable goal". Mr. Sweeney talked about bui Iding "a comprehensive, integrated and affordable chi Id care system" and how the new moneys the province expends "wil I be used to strike a balance between expanding the availabi I ity of services and improving the affordabi I ity and stab ii ity of services". wi I I cial that care The initiatives out I ined in the pol icy paper include: DRYDEN - UPDATE Direct operating grants to nonprofit day care in this fiscal year Change to income testing (from needs testing) in 1988-89 Capital funding for non-profit day care for new construction and renovations Child care spaces in al I new school construction Projects to strengthen Boards of Directors and involve parents in child care decision making and management. The major problem is that insufficient funds are being al located to really produce a comprehensive system. SO OUR MJVOCACY WORK IS NOT YET DONE! However, the direction of the pol icy seems positive and, hopefully, our future discussions with Mr. Sweeney and other politicians can focus on re-bui Iding a QUALITY system, rather than our consistent crisis problems of the past (and present). The Northwestern Ontario Regronal Day Care Committee plans to do a thorough analysis of this pol icy paper. We have concerns stil I about the commercial issue (which the paper indicates be conditional on federal - provinnegotiations). We are also concerned the province implies that "informal" is part of the "system". We have asked Ministry to forward a copy of "New Directions for Child Care" to al I Northwestern Ontario day care supervisors/administrators and parent group representatives. We would be pleased to have your feed-back about this paper. If centres, communities or individuals want additional copies of the paper, you could ask your local MPP to obtain them for you. Parent meetings are being held once a month; an Executive was elected in May to plan activities and fundraising events. In June the children gathered at the local radio station to record "Children of the Day Care". The song was played at the Town "Safety Night". The children have been invited to sing their song to residents of Patricia Gardens, fol lowing which tea and dainties wil I be served. Al I but three parents were able to attend a Bag Lunch picnic on June 15th. Bal loons were blown up and released to mark the local "Countdown for Child Care" campaign. The event received good press and radio coverage. June 19th was "Circus Day" at the Dryden Day Care Centre with the children performing various circus acts for their friends and parents. Fundraising activities of the Parents' Group include a raffle, and a Clown Face-Painting event held June 27th. In July the puppeteer from "Fraggle Rock" wil I be in Dryden to put on a show for day care children and parents. CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE INCLUDE Holly Rupert, Karen Warbin, Joan Wi I Iiams, Agnes Vincent, Margaret Phi I I ips and Fiona Karlstedt. � 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 1987 Subject The topic of the resource Organizations Description An account of the resource Northwestern Ontario Day Care News June 1987. Includes information about NWO Regional Forum; Northwestern Ontario Day Care Services Study and Day Care Staff Study; Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care Conference and Lobby; day care news for Longlac and Dryden; Child Care: The Price of Profit video; Child Care Under Debate: Report on the Child Care Forum, Dryden, April 21, 1987; Thunder Bay Advocates for Quality Child Care; Ontario policy paper "New Directions for Child Care". 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 1987-06 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_87june 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 - Longlac Canada - Ontario - Dryden 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/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/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/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