Moving forward

Saskatchewan's child care plan may be slowed by Harper's unwillingness to fund the federal/provincial agreements past next year. But Deb Higgins made clear yesterday that it won't be stopped:

"The last two years of lots of work by many people in Saskatchewan most definitely hasn't been a waste," Higgins said Wednesday after meeting with early learning and child-care representatives from around the province.

"Will the enhancements be there as quickly as we would like? No they won't. But the plan is there; we can continue to work with our partners, and as finances are available we can move ahead."

Higgins said the comprehensive "made-in-Saskatchewan" plan aimed to implement universal pre-kindergarten for four-year-olds, substantially increases child-care spaces and included a number of other enhancements such as training for staff...

Higgins said the province will continue to urge the Tory government to keep the five-year funding deal in place. But regardless of what happens with the federal government, the province is still on track to meet its 2003 pledge to have developed 1,200 new child-care spaces over four years, and will continue with the previously announced wage increases for child-care workers, she said.

While it would still be far better to see the federal government take the lead in developing a national program, there shouldn't be any doubt that provinces still have the option of improving access on their own. And once there are a few more examples of how effective a provincial scheme can be, it'll be all the tougher to justify any future failure to make similar programs available to all Canadians.