Article content
In the heart of Quarry Park sits a bustling hub of human potential. The YMCA’s Quarry Park Child Development Centre is the daytime home of nearly 300 children who spend their hours learning, playing and making friends.
Advertisement 2
Article content
As I walk the halls listening to happy chatter, the occasional superhero runs by, and I’m regularly tested on my knowledge of Paw Patrol characters. I watch our staff and educators hard at work supporting the next generation of our city’s leaders. They are dedicated and driven by the positive effect they have on the lives of families in Calgary.
Article content
I’d love to see this opportunity offered to even more families, but the reality is delivering high-quality, affordable, accessible child care is costly, and getting harder to do.
Our provincial and federal governments have taken admirable steps to address the lack of affordable child care in our province, although it’s simply not enough. For operators like the YMCA to reach more families, we need governments to acknowledge and act on a variety of factors that stand in our way.
First, this means recognizing the toll that COVID-19 had on our sector. After two years of working selflessly in exceedingly difficult conditions, many early childhood educators simply left their profession. And less are joining it today. The result is a diminished and weary workforce, who somehow despite this, continue to provide exceptional care for the children in our community. They deserve better and need more support; and we owe it to them.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
It also means acknowledging that record-high inflation has taken a significant toll on child-care operators. Recently, the Alberta government indexed tax brackets, as well as benefit programs such as AISH and Income Support to inflation. This was the right thing to do. And so, it stands to reason that the Affordability Grant given to operators under the Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement should also be indexed to help address soaring costs associated with providing high-quality child care. This will prevent costs from being pushed onto families.
Finally, it means recognizing that our economic prosperity is inextricably linked with families’ ability to access meaningful employment. For many, this means choosing between a career and child care; an almost impossible decision. The common outcome is one parent making that impossible decision — leaving a job unfilled, financials stretched and a family stressed. Far too often, this decision disproportionately affects women.
What then, is our path forward?
We must shift the way we think about child care in the province and consider it an essential element to our continued economic success — one that plays a central role in maintaining the value proposition that Alberta is the best place in Canada to live, work, play and raise a family. To do this, we must develop child-care policy in tandem with economic policy, keeping in mind that the former is critical to the latter’s success.
Advertisement 4
Article content
It also means understanding that initiatives meant to spur economic growth and development must include provisions for strengthening child care, both in terms of affordability and availability of spaces. This includes doing more to attract and retain childhood educators to the profession to ensure we are able to meet the needs of parents and families across our great province.
We stand ready to support the province in these efforts, together with a wide and diverse coalition of child-care experts, operators and family voices to help imagine what meaningful action can and should look like. Our future leaders are depending on us.
I’ve seen first-hand the transformation that can happen when families have access to high-quality and affordable child care. It’s disguised in the form of princesses and superheroes riding tricycles at centres such as Quarry Park, and more obvious in the parents who can finish university, take care of loved ones or pursue their dream job.
This is what potential looks like. And it’s ours for the making.
Shannon Doram is the CEO of Calgary YMCA.
Opinion: Accessible, affordable child care key to Alberta's economic success - Calgary Herald
Read More
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation