By Vi-Anne Zirnhelt

There are a number of early learning planning tables in communities across the province, and the number-one issue for most of these programs is the lack of affordable, accessible, and quality childcare. Ultimately, as a just society, we need to ask ourselves this question: Why would I not support a quality system, with proven lifelong benefits for children? As taxpayers we support public education, public health care, roads, and community programs like libraries and swimming pools. When we know that early learning and care will make a lifelong difference to young children as they grow to adulthood, it simply makes sense.

Countries who have been successful in developing quality early learning and care programs often call them preschool programs. What they mean by this is full and part-time child-care programs in schools, community programs, and family child care staffed by educated and trained early childhood educators. Developmentally appropriate and publicly funded programs with entitlement to all children. Early learning and care programs in many countries are considered both a child’s right and a societal need.

Evidence of the long-term effects on children’s development is resoundingly positive. Children grow up to be adolescents and adults who have higher rates of postsecondary education, are less involved with the criminal justice system, have higher incomes, less teenage pregnancy, to name a few. As well, countries who have invested in early childhood development and care have high levels of economic output, productivity, and gender equality.

The B.C. Liberal government has had many opportunities to plan and develop early childhood development programs which would support the needs of all families, including those who work and study, and those who are currently at home. To support families in all their diverse needs requires a thoughtful, well planned, and evidence-based approach for early learning and care within B.C—a child-care plan.

What we have seen in B.C. since 2001 is the cancellation of a four-year roll-out plan for Child Care B.C., which would have extended affordable, regulated child care to children under the age of 5. Cuts to child-care funding which then were replaced with federal dollars making our provincial expenditures actually less than what they were in 2001.

One will hear Gordon Campbell say his government funds 90,000 child-care spaces. This is 12 to 15 percent of total operating costs in child-care programs. He doesn’t say that parent fees make up the additional 85 percent of operating funding.

We also know there is a human-resource crisis in the early learning and care community. This is due to the fact that early childhood educators are often making less than poverty line wages and can earn more at Starbucks than they can providing quality child-care programs and support to families.

We have seen small government expenditures on a variety of programs such as car booster seats, books for babies, and Strong Start programs in schools. While we support Strong Start programs for universal entitlement in publicly funded schools, the program does not support working families. Nor does it support a living wage for early childhood educators.

Vi-Anne Zirnhelt is the president of Early Childhood Educators of B.C.