chez Kirby

Today, I threw caution to the wind and took Meghan to a public forum on poverty. It was packed, but the woman that had called to invite me was at the entrance when I arrived, and helped us get settled into an aisle spot at the back. This meant Meghan could sit in her stroller, and conveniently put me next to the co-Chair of the Regional Child Care Council.

I had stopped en route to get Meghan a treat to keep her occupied for at least a few minutes. I suggested a ginger cookie, but she replied, “Fwies. En ketchup en mustard.” Oh. So, I try to come up with another solution, but we’re running out of time, and I think maybe we’ll just go without. Maybe they’ll have cookies there. But then, there’s no parking except for very near…McDonald’s! She spots it, and I’m trapped.

We go to get the fries, but it turns out, they don’t make fries in the morning. I try to quell the tears of bitter disappointment by suggesting a hashbrown. She replies with her now trademark, “NO! No! No, no, NO!” After leaving, a woman outside smoking tries to explain it to her. She leans against the outside window with her forehead on her forearm, tears streaming down her face, and ignores the woman. She collects herself, and then says, “Can I have a hashbrown, Mummy?” Phew! We grab the most unhealthy snack on the planet, a hashbrown, an apple juice (which we no longer have in the house, so a very special treat, not to mention loaded with sugar…oops!), and run down the street to the meeting.

I brought a pile of new library books with me as well, hoping I could at least stay for most of the panel discussion. We made it through most of it, before she got restless, and started squirming around in her stroller. I was just about to get up to leave when the woman and her daughter offered to take her aside and read her books. Well, hello! Meghan was in her heaven! She sat in the woman’s daughter’s lap for close to 45 minutes reading book after book, being mostly quiet. Near the end, she was so comfortable with the young woman, that she actually talked to her, and was pointing out things in the book. It was delicious to see.

Meanwhile, I was trying to concentrate on hearing everything the panel had to say, as well as the members of the public. I was asked to be one of the first people to speak, and I did.

It was a jarring experience, as I hadn’t had any breakfast, and half way through my comments, I noticed an old (and rather unpleasant) boss I’d had in the crowd, which really threw me for a loop. Anyway, I think my passion for the issue carried me, and I got to add my two cents about child care, and how the lack of a national system leaves children in poverty. If you don’t have a system of quality care for single parents, or the working poor to access, then they are faced with either going to work and paying as much as they do in rent for child care, or living on welfare, which also leaves them living in poverty.

What we need to finally address poverty in Canada, is a national affordable housing strategy, and a national child care system to go with it. We pride ourselves on our socialized Health care system, and yet some are afraid of socializing anything else. These are two very key elements to helping people out of poverty.

When a child from a poor family has a decent roof over their head that doesn’t consume most of the parent’s income, and quality child care, as well as support for their parents from the child care centre when they need it…just imagine how much better that home would be?! Imagine how much less stress the parents would be under, and how much happier that would make the child’s life. We could be doing so much better!

I learned a few new statistics today too. In 1989, when all of Parliament signed an agreement to end child poverty by the year 2000, 11.7% of Canadian children were living in poverty. Guess what? Nothing has changed. It’s still at 11.7%! And, what’s worse, is that BC is at the top of the list. We have the worst child poverty record of any province in Canada.

After picking up Liam from preschool, and feeding the kids lunch, I thought to flip on the CBC. What’s the first thing I heard? A woman, describing herself as an Early Childhood Educator, as well as a parent of preschool age children, talking about how shocked she was by the terrible standard of care she found when she moved to BC last year. She refuses to put her children in care, and has started her own home daycare as a result. She can’t believe how high the caregiver to child ratios are here, as compared to Ontario, where she’s from. How very timely! I tried to call in, but the line was busy, so instead I emailed the Open Line, and thanked them for covering this story.

I am getting more and more motivated for the next federal election. I want to see the Conservatives GONE! They have a $14 B surplus. And yet, they are loathe to consider a child care system that doesn’t encourage women to leave the paid workforce. It’s infuriating, and I am going to do everything in my power to see that Canadian children get the quality care they deserve!