Child care and early learning

By Josh Marcellin, Vue WeeklyIf corporations are people, as some would say, then they're not the kind of people you'd want to fight; a corporation is big, faceless and prohibitively powerful.

EDMONTON—Public Interest Alberta has selected Evelyn Schuler from Medicine Hat to receive this year’s Public Interest Award for Southern Alberta.

Please join us for a celebration of the achievements of two phenomenal advocates.The award ceremonies will take place on April 10th and 12th as part of PIA’s 7th annual advocacy conference. We hope to see you there.

"Dear Mr Hehr: I am a working, middle class mother in your constituency. I earn an average salary as an administrative technical worker at an oil and gas firm. My husband works in computer desktop support. We own a small condo in Calgary with a mortgage, and we have a daughter aged 20 months. As it stands today, I am struggling without government assistance in order to keep working and support my family."

"Ending a grant worth thousands of dollars every year to child-care centres across Alberta will hurt providers trying to offer the best care and could lead to higher fees for families, advocates said Monday. A coalition of child-care providers, joined by Public Interest Alberta, urged the province to reinstate the Quality Enhancement Training grant, eliminated as part of the in the 2013-14 budget."

"While provincial funding for childcare in Alberta was increased in Budget 2013, childcare providers are sounding the alarm after learning a grant that’s been in place for a decade is on the chopping block and there are concerns it could affect the cost of childcare for families."

"Dear MLA Hehr: Rachel Sutherland suggested I give you my "daycare" struggle story. I am a single mother who adopted 2 Special Needs children from foster care in Calgary in late 2010. Bio brother and sister 7 & 8. My childcare bills per month are enormous."

Watch CTV's Lethbridge's coverage of childcare cuts in the recent budget, including interview with Public Interest Alberta's Bill Moore-Kilgannon.

Daycare operators are losing grants that the province provided to accredited programs and centres across Alberta.On April 1, Alberta Human Services is ending the Quality Enhancement Grant which provided $7,500 for accredited childcare centres and $4,000 for accredited before and after-school programs.Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, found the move puzzling.He says Alberta's childcare funding is among the lowest in Canada and this latest cut will make waiting lists even longer.

EDMONTON—Childcare advocates across the province were shocked and upset to hear from the Minister of Human Services, Dave Hancock, that the Quality Enhancement Grant that has been in place since 2003, will be eliminated effective April 1st. The grant was worth $7500 for all accredited childcare centres and day home agencies and $4000 for all accredited before and after school programs.