CUPE National President Paul Moist made a strong case for sustainable, not-for profit-child care in a meeting with federal social development minister Ken Dryden. Moist outlined CUPEs vision of high-quality care to Dryden, who is working with provincial and territorial child care ministers to shape a new child care system for Canada.
After decades of work, a cross-Canada child care system is finally within sight and CUPE is working to make sure the system gets built on a strong foundation. The ministers will meet in Vancouver on Friday, Feb. 11 to finalize and announce the details of the program.
Outside of Qub0065c, which has taken the lead in building high-quality, accessible care, Canadian child care is a patchwork of services that all levels of government must dedicate themselves to rebuilding as system of excellence. The federal government can show leadership by setting high standards and holding the provinces to them.
Moist urged Dryden to give this new social program the first in a generation – the best chance to grow into a sustainable child care system. He emphasized the key building blocks that must be the foundation of next weeks agreement:
- Ensure not-for-profit expansion of the child care system. Non-profit child care consistently delivers higher-quality care, and Moist pointed to the research confirming this point. Outlawing for-profit expansion in the new system will also prevent big box corporate child care from making inroads. Moist shared details of CUPEs legal opinion on the trade dangers of allowing for-profit care.
- Create a sound accountability framework. Moist made the connection with health care, where despite accountability systems and measures for reporting, the provinces in large fail to deliver substantive reports
- Protect the key principles of quality, universality, accessibility and developmentally-appropriate care by enshrining them in legislation.
- Recognize that well-paid trained child care workers are at the heart of building a quality, and support child care workers who are essential to the success of a new system.
Moist reminded Dryden that CUPE is an important stakeholder in the child care debate both as a union that represents thousands of child care workers, and as Canadas largest union with hundreds of thousands of working parents who need quality care to do their jobs.
CUPE will be in Vancouver watching and pushing for a strong framework to ensure the best possible start to a quality, non-profit system for CUPE parents and our members who deliver high quality child care services in our communities.
Add your voice. Visit www.buildchildcare.ca today to send a message to Minister Dryden, your provincial child care minister and other elected officials.