I am now officially one of those people that calls in regularly to radio talk shows. Call me a fanatic, but I just could NOT resist today.
They were talking about how BC has the highest child poverty rate in Canada again this year. That’s four years running now folks. What is it that Campbell has rebranded us as? The Best Place on Earth. I wonder if he asked the the kids going to school hungry, living in substandard housing, parents working more than one job, and still struggling to pay their expenses? I doubt it very much that they would agree. I think he better go back to Beautiful British Columbia, because even if you’re poor, you can’t deny that it’s pretty.
Anyway, I was sickened by this report, and BC Almanac’s Open Line gave me another chance to vent. I squeaked in as the last caller, and managed to say that when parents are paying up to $1000/month for child care, not to mention some of the highest housing costs in the country, then it’s pretty obvious where the government should be looking to help out.
I said that there’s a lot the Province of BC could be doing to help, but the federal Conservatives should not be let off the hook for their part in all this. By voting against the Early Learning and Child Care Act on Wednesday, they proved their unwillingness to adequately respond to the child care crisis in Canada, and should be strongly encouraged to support it in February when it comes for Third (and final) reading. This is their chance to make a MAJOR difference in the lives of the working poor of this country. As the study points out, “Forty-one per cent of all low-income children in 2005 lived in families where there was at least one person with a full-time, all-year job.”
The good thing about this weird habit I’ve somehow developed of calling into these radio shows, is that child care is actually making it into the mainstream media! Yes, I’m a fanatical freak, but at least my issue is getting some attention!
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