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OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced he will kill the child care agreements with the provinces, but the Canadian Union of Public Employees and child care advocates have vowed to vigorously protect them.

“The provinces, child care advocates and families want a national child care program,” CUPE national president Paul Moist said. “But Mr. Harper is saying the deals are dead by March 31, 2007. This unilateral approach wilfully ignores what families need and what the provinces have promised to deliver with the federal government’s help.”

“We have worked too hard and for too many years to let a minority government take it all away. Mr. Harper is provoking a major confrontation if he persists with his agenda,” Moist added.

Last night child care advocates gathered in front of the PM’s residence to show their support for a national child care program and their disappointment at Harper’s proposed cancellation of the deals.

“Our campaign has only just begun,” Moist said. “We ask Mr. Harper to reconsider his strategy and instead be responsive and accountable to Canadians, as he promised in his election campaign.”

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CUPE is Canada’s largest union, with 540,000 members providing public services in communities across the country, including health care, child care, municipal services and more.

Contact:
Paul Moist, National President, (613) 558-2873
Claude Généreux, National Secretary-Treasurer (porte-parole francophone), (514) 884-5074 Barry Doyle, CUPE Communications, (613) 294-9424