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CALGARY Saskatchewan and Manitoba have struck deals with the federal government to fund child care in those provinces, and Ontario is rumoured to be close behind.

But in Alberta, the rigid ideology of the Klein government means parents and children will get left behind. That was the charge from CUPE Alberta President DArcy Lanovaz.

Why shouldnt Alberta parents have access to the same child care programs as parents in other provinces, said Lanovaz. Were left behind because the province wont move.

The Alberta government has said it wont act on a national child care plan that doesnt fund private, for-profit day care centres. But Lanovaz says studies by the University of Toronto, Todays Parent Magazine, and others all say non-profit centres provide higher quality care.

The stubborn devotion to for-profit day care, in the face of all available evidence, doesnt serve our interests, said Lanovaz. Canadians in other provinces are now getting more, better, and cheaper child care while Alberta families get the short end of the stick.

Lanovaz said that with the federal government in pre-election spending mode, Alberta should strike while the iron is hot.

If we had a government that cared about getting results for working families, wed have a deal already.

Instead, Alberta is set to become a have-not child care province.

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