TORONTO — No matter what appears in Stephen Harper’s first budget tomorrow, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty must make good on his promise to create 20,000 new child care spaces before the next provincial election, says Sid Ryan.
The CUPE Ontario president, representing more than 200,000 working women and men — including about 5,000 child care workers — is calling on the premier to publicly demand that Harper’s budget include the multi-year funding of $1.2 billion to build a high quality, accessible, affordable community-based child care system.
“Even if Mr. Harper and his finance minister proceed with dismantling the federal-provincial child care plan, there is no excuse for Dalton McGuinty to abandon the child care promise in Ontario,” Ryan said. “The province is in good shape. He promised to expand child care and he should keep his promise.”
Moving forward with child care expansion in Ontario is one good way to keep the pressure on Harper’s government to honour the federal-provincial agreements, Ryan said. McGuinty must show leadership as the premier of Canada’s largest province.
“Ontario should be a trend-setter, not a follower,” he said. “Dalton McGuinty must not use Stephen Harper as an excuse for letting down working families in this province.”
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For more information, contact:
Sid Ryan, President, CUPE Ontario, 416-209-0066 (cell)
Pat Daley, CUPE Communications, 416-299-9739 ext 264