Monday March 19th - Host or Join a Budget Watch

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On Monday, March 19 2007 the federal budget will be presented in the House of Commons.

Parents, child care providers, advocates and supporters across the country will be watching and listening to see if the federal government has listened to their concerns about child care cuts.

What are we likely to see on March 19th? The federal government will likely cut almost $1 billion in funding for early learning and child care services and abdicate its responsibility for ensuring that an early learning and child care system is established across Canada.

What should we see in the federal budget? At least $1.2 billion in federal cash transfers to the provinces and territories with accountability measures that ensure that this money is spent in a way that gives families access to quality, regulated care.

All You Need to Host or Join a Budget Watch

We appreciate your efforts in letting the federal government know that the child care community is looking for action and commitment in this budget. Here are a couple quick reference fact sheets that include (in two pages total) everything you need to know to spread this message by hosting and joining a budget watch.

Facts and key messages on recent federal initiatives related to child care
A guide on how you and your group can help spread this message by hosting or joining a budget watch

For further background information,

See CCAAC’s submission to the federal government in response to their 2006 Economic and Fiscal Update which presents the government’s priorities including debt reduction and tax cuts but regrettably not child care services: Early Learning and Child Care Services for Canada: Building Advantage from the Foundation
Also, see the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ recently released Strength in Numbers: Alternative Federal Budget 2007, or the summary document: Alternative Federal Budget 2007: Budget in Brief.
See also the Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) publication Women’s Equality and the Fiscal Imbalance, which describes how increased federal transfers to the provinces and territories represent a real opportunity for Canada to better comply with its human rights obligations to women, but only if governments agree to develop common standards and designate monies for programs and services on which women heavily rely.