EDMONTON—Public Interest Alberta congratulates the City of Edmonton for its excellent letter in support of the existing federal-provincial childcare agreements.
The Mayor of Edmonton, Steven Mandel, sent a strongly worded letter today to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in defence of the importance of maintaining the childcare agreements.
“This letter is clearly in line with what the vast majority of Edmontonians think about the Harper government’s plans to cancel the agreements, says Bill Moore-Kilgannon, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta.
Public Interest Alberta’s poll of over 800 Albertans confirms that the majority of Albertans are opposed to the federal government’s plans to cancel the childcare agreements and strongly support the key principles of Alberta’s five-point plan for childcare.
“As more provincial and municipal governments speak out officially on the Harper government’s plan to cancel the agreements, we hope the Harper government will seriously take a hard look at what cancelling will mean for families who are struggling to find quality, affordable childcare for their children”, say Moore-Kilgannon.
“The Minister of Children’s Services Minister, Heather Forsyth should follow the lead of the City of Edmonton and write an open letter herself asking that the agreements be maintained” says Moore-Kilgannon. “While on April 13th she called on Albertans to ‘lobby the federal government to maintain the support for Alberta’s five-point plan’, the Minister needs to take a stronger public position in support of the agreements she signed last year”.
The Cities of London, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver have all passed resolutions supporting the continuation of the agreements, and a motion to this effect was unanimously approved by the Government of Saskatchewan.
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