ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Canada’s largest farm lobby says the ideal child-care system for rural Canada would be a combination of policies offered by the governing Conservatives and their opposition Liberal critics.
In late July, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture board approved a child-care policy that supports the government’s direct payment program to parents with children younger than six, while also taking a leaf off the opposition tree by investing directly to build more rural day-care spaces.
“I guess we like a bit of both plans,” said Ontario Federation of Agriculture president and CFA safety nets chair Ron Bonnett in an interview. “The direct payment to parents is good because it gives them flexibility, but in many cases, there also aren’t spaces available so we need direct investment as well.”
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While the debate often centres on urban child care, Bonnett said the need also is great in rural areas where farm families work long hours in some seasons and need help.
“Young farm families in rural Canada have very unique child-care needs,” says the policy statement adopted by the CFA July 28. “Remote rural families face long distances to child-care services. Often access to child-care spaces in rural areas is highly limited. Rural child care must also meet the needs of farm families for seasonal flexibility and extended hours.”
The federation said any policy designed to meet rural needs must include training more qualified workers, making spaces available and affordable and ensuring there is flexibility in the system.
“Child care and early childhood development is equally important in rural areas,” said the CFA statement. “Strong flexible child-care services in rural areas ensure that rural children have equal opportunity for success.”
Bonnett said it is not coincidence that the child-care policy was dealt with and approved in the safety nets committee.
“There isn’t another committee that would specifically fit this issue,” he said. “But I also think it fits in safety nets because having a system for looking after your children is the basis for the ability to run a farm and to do your business. A child-care system clearly is a safety net.”
When the Conservatives took power in February, they made implementation of their child-care promise a priority.
Instead of the Liberal-negotiated deal with provinces to provide more than $5 billion to build licenced day-care spaces, the Conservatives said they would give parents the option of either institutionalized child care or family-neighbour care of children by sending cheques of $100 per month per child to families with children younger than six. The government also will provide incentives to attract private sector, community or co-operative investment in spaces.
The cheques to families started to flow July 1.
Opposition MPs and most child-care lobby groups insist the Conservative plan is flawed and the government should honour the Liberal agreements with provinces to build tens of thousands of new licenced spaces.
