New Westminster Stroller Brigade
Stroller Brigade hits New Westminster this weekend
New West Record OCTOBER 3, 2019
The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. is using the federal election as an opportunity to highlight the importance of child care funding.
The group is holding a Stroller Brigade for Child Care on Saturday, Oct. 5 in New Westminster. It aims to highlight the importance of maintaining the current federal child-care funding agreements (B.C. receives more than $50 million annual) and growing funding over time to help the province fully implement a $10aDay Child Care Plan.
“Stroller brigades are not your typical march or rally,” said Kate Spence, the parent of a toddler and a preschooler. “Stroller brigades are a joyful celebration of our children and a passionate demonstration by parents, grandparents and educators that child care shouldn’t be such an impossible struggle for young families or pay educators such low wages.”
New Westminster-Burnaby candidates have been invited to attend the local Stroller Brigade.
“The good news is that most of the major political parties have included child care commitments in their election platforms,” said Sharon Gregson, spokesperson for the $10aDay Child Care Plan.
The New Westminster Stroller Brigade is on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon at upper Hume Park (meet by the water park). Participants will walk down East Columbia Street and then march back along Kelly Street to the park’s playground. Details at the New Westminster Stroller Brigade page on Facebook.
Child Care a Federal Election Issue
B.C. parents demand to make child-care a vital federal election issue
Posted Oct 5, 2019
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A number of parents are hitting the streets armed with their strollers to voice their demand to make child-care more of a federal election issue.
The ‘Stroller Brigade’ is being planned for communities across the province, including New Westminster, Richmond and Vancouver Saturday morning.
“Child care funding is managed by the provinces, but a portion of that funding comes from the federal government. Together we need to ensure that those elected on October 21st support the accessible, affordable child care by protecting the $50 million BC now receives annually for child care – and committing to grow that amount over time,” the BCGEU stated in a news release.
The BCGEU will join The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, Early Childhood Educators of BC and The Waitlisted Project for the province-wide Stroller Brigade for Child Care.
Langley Stroller Brigade
Langley march aims to make child care a federal election issue
The Stroller Brigade will be held Saturday at the Langley Events Centre
JOTI GREWAL Oct. 4, 2019
A stroller brigade will take to the streets of Langley this weekend with the goal of making child care a federal election issue.
The Stroller Brigade for Child Care is a peaceful local march happening in communities across British Columbia who want to address affordability, accessibility and quality of child care available.
The march in Langley will take place on Saturday from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre playground.
The idea of the march is to bring families together and talk about the significance of continued investment in early learning and child care, according to Alicia Rempel, facilitator for Langley Children Committee, an organizer of the event.
Read more
Child Care in the Federal Election on CBC Radio
Listen here to Stephen Quinn from the Early Edition interview Sharon Gregson, spokesperson for the $10aDay Plan, and Paul Kershaw, founder of Gen Squeeze.
Stroller Brigades in Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon & Penticton
Stroller Brigades want attention on child care across B.C.
KAMLOOPS - In 20 cities across B.C., mothers, fathers, childcare providers, and guardians will partake in the Stroller Brigade in an effort to increase visibility and political focus on issues parents face trying to find and afford childcare.
On Saturday, Oct. 5, marches in Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton and other communities will see streets and parks filled with strollers, signs, and families coming together to voice their support for reliable, accessible, and affordable childcare. It will also highlight the importance of fair wages and working conditions for early childhood educators. The events hope to bring the importance of affordable childcare to the attention of local MP candidates and highlight the importance of protecting and increasing federal funding for childcare initiatives.
The event in Vernon will run from 10 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., and the group will meet at Polson Park at 2600 Highway 6.
For those wanting to participate in the Kelowna event, you can meet at the Parkinson Recreation Centre at 1800 Parkinson Way, and take part from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.
The Stroller Brigade in Penticton will take place at Lakawanna Park at 796 Lakeshore Drive West. The event will begin at 10 a.m. and run for an hour.
The Kamloops event will run for a bit longer than the others, starting at 10 a.m. and lasting until noon. Participants can meet at McArthur Island Park and will go for a stroll around the island.
Comox Valley Stroller Brigade
Comox Valley Stroller Brigade bringing childcare crisis to forefront
Comox Valley Record, October 1, 2019
Have you or someone you know been on a waitlist for childcare far longer than you care to admit? Does the lack of quality, affordable, accessible childcare have a negative impact on your life? Does your place of work suffer because current or future employees can’t find a space for their child?
These are just some of the impacts of the current childcare crisis in the Comox Valley. Many families go on multiple wait lists as soon as they find out they are expecting, only to be told there is a two year or more wait time before a space becomes available. Childcare programs report waiting lists of over 200 families for a 12-space program. Some childcare centres are operating at below capacity because they cannot find qualified early childhood educators to staff their programs.
This is the crisis and this is why we need to advocate for sustained funding and policies to address these issues.
On Oct. 5, more than 20 B.C. communities, including Courtenay, will be hosting Stroller Brigades for Child Care. Ahead of the federal election, families, educators and the public will be rallying for an end to this crisis. The Comox Valley event will take place Oct. 5 from 10-11 a.m., meeting at the Courtenay Airpark Café and walking to the Rotary Children’ s SkyPark
Read moreJoin the Stroller Brigades on October 5th
It’s now confirmed there will be a federal election on October 21st and we’re hoping you’ll help us to make Child Care visible as an important election issue in your community!
The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC along with the Early Childhood Educators of BC and The Waitlisted Project are supporting province-wide “Stroller Brigades for Child Care” and we’d like you to be a part of the fun.
Did you know: child care funding is managed by the provinces, but a portion of that funding comes from the federal government? Together we need to ensure that those elected on October 21st support the $10aDay Plan by protecting the $50 million BC now receives annually for child care – and committing to grow that amount over time.
On October 5th in communities across the province families and educators will be holding ‘Stroller Brigades’ to make child care visible. Check the list to see if there’s a Stroller Brigade in your community – and if not plan to organize one with your friends and family. For more information contact [email protected]. We're happy to lend a hand.
So far, big and small Stroller Brigades are being organized in: Comox, Campbell River, Nelson, Squamish, Victoria, Penticton, Vancouver, Kelowna, Vernon, Parksville, Terrace, New Westminster, Port Alberni and Quesnel.
Stay tuned for more details and mark your calendar for a Stroller Brigade on October 5th!
Check on Facebook to find the details for each community.
Child Care in Sea-to-Sky Region
Child care in Sea-to-Sky region going from 'bad to worse to crisis to chaos'
Municipalities, provincial government say work is being done to alleviate child-care crunch
Read moreSupport for $10aDay from Nelson, B.C.
Support for move toward universal childcare supported by council...
by Timothy Schafer on Sunday August 25 2019
The province is moving towards the creation of a universal childcare plan and the city has moved to support that effort and becomes the 60th municipality to do so.
The city recently approved a resolution to advocate the province’s Child Care B.C. Caring for Kids, Lifting Up Families: The Path to Universal Child Care and recommended that B.C. “fully consider the recommendations from the $10-a-Day Plan and adopt them as it deemed appropriate.
The plan includes several solutions to address childcare issues in the province, identifying three major problems with the delivery of childcare in B.C.
The three problems identified are: the high cost of childcare; the lack of licensed childcare facilities; and, the low wages paid to early childhood educators.
“The plan proposes solutions to make childcare more affordable, accessible and of higher quality,” noted a city staff report to council.
In B.C. the Ministry of Children and Family Development administers childcare fee subsidies and funds certain service providers. The Ministry also registers early childhood education and funds local childcare resources and referral programs.
However, there is no one system of childcare and many providers operate independently.
Overall, the province has
The province has committed to over $1 billion for the next three years, including $237 million to implement “universal child care” and funding the creation of 22,000 new licensed childcare spaces.
The plan could lay the foundation for universal childcare — making childcare available and affordable for any family that wants or needs it — and moves away from the current patchwork of programs and services.
