Australian expert delivers cautionary child care tale

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Deb Brennan has followed the rise and fall of ABC Learning Centres from a critical distance.

The social policy professor has written extensively on child care in Australia and what happened to it when it went corporate.

• Brennan's presentation [PDF file]
• Video of her Vancouver presentation
• Audio of her Ottawa presentation
  

It is estimated that ABC Learning Centres controls between 30% and 50% of the Australian child care sector. This is largely due to a government decision in the 1990s to extend public subsidies to users of private, for-profit care rather than to expand non-profit care.

She's in Canada on a two week tour, sponsored by Code Blue for Child Care, a Canada-wide campaign to build a real pan-Canadian child care system.

In Ottawa professor Brennan will be speaking next at Ottawa City Council chambers, 7pm April 1.