Lack of available childcare infringing on human rights of women and children, says legal group
Legal association calls on province 'to make childcare significantly more affordable for all'
By Anna Dimoff, CBC News Posted: Jul 12, 2016 3:31 PM PT Last Updated: Jul 12, 2016 3:31 PM PT
The struggle to find childcare in B.C. communities has become more than just an exercise in frustration. A local legal association specializing in women's equality says it's a human rights issue.
The West Coast Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) has released a report looking at what happens when a childcare system doesn't meet the needs of the families that rely on it, and uses the accounts of 15 women to demonstrate the challenges mothers are facing.
"They're living in cycles of poverty, often trapped on income assistance because, even with a full childcare subsidy, they can't pay the cost of care necessary for them to work," said Kendra Milne, West Coast LEAF Director of Law Reform, and the author of the report.