MORINVILLE, Alta. – A group lobbying for rural child-care programs has lost three top officials.
National co-chair Margaret Jones, secretary-treasurer Marcia Rinn and executive director Jane Wilson have resigned from the National Rural Child Care Coalition in the span of three days.
Citing personality conflicts, Jones said the group, formed in Saskatoon in 1994 by six women to lobby for better child care in rural areas, had stopped listening to its grassroots.
“There were problems in communications,” said Jones, who announced her resignation Nov. 21. “The direction wasn’t for me any more so I resigned.”
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The coalition grappled with several logistical problems including a volunteer board scattered across the country.
“I’ve lost my direction and I didn’t feel I was helping the coalition when I had a lot of questions about where we were going,” she said. “In my personal ethics, I have to give 100 percent at a job. I had to step away. Because of the doubts I do have, I feel I am not effective in my position.”
Jones, who lives near High Prairie, Alta., said her decision was prompted in part by Wilson’s resignation on Nov. 20.
Wilson, who lives just outside Langruth, Man., said: “I guess it was a personal decision … I didn’t feel I could be executive director of the coalition any longer. We had certain goals and objectives, like media releases and television commercials, that were half-finished and never completed.”
Rinn, who quit Nov. 22, declined to comment.
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Both Rinn and Wilson were instrumental in starting the Lakeview Children’s Centre in Langruth, a small hamlet 160 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Starting the centre six years ago led Wilson to push for similar programs on a national scale.
“I don’t want to hurt the coalition. I believe in rural child care with all my heart and stepping down was the toughest decision I have ever made, ” said Wilson.
Both Wilson and Jones will continue their lobbying efforts.
“I’m going to work within the province of Manitoba,” Wilson said. “There are other options to keep rural child care going.”
Jones will push for better care of farm children through Alberta Agriculture’s farm safety program and the Alberta Women’s Institute.
The decisions surprised the remaining board of directors. Estelle Lefurgy, the coalition’s British Columbia representative, suspected stress might have played a part.
“The issue of rural child care was a very much forgotten issue,” said Lefurgy, who lives near Chilliwack. “Working to bring it forward to politicians and decision makers required a great deal of energy and work.
“Sixteen months of high energy takes its toll. (Jones) has made tremendous commitments. But, as volunteers, we always have the right to step down. You also have to keep in mind that Margaret had very young children.
“As women, we have to juggle many jobs in our life and sometimes we have to put on hold issues close to our heart.”
The lack of government action added to the coalition’s burden, Lefurgy said. Despite some pilot projects in some provinces, the federal government has made no commitment.
“We want a safe environment for our rural families to raise their children. It is totally unacceptable to bring children on machinery on the field. It’s also unacceptable to leave children at home when you’re working on the fields.
“(Farm women) are caregivers and partners but the economics of modern agriculture have forced them to become hired hands,” Lefurgy said. “That’s why you see so many women driving grain trucks. Family farms can’t afford hired hands.
“You also see a number of farm wives holding down town jobs.”
Lefurgy vowed her group will continue to press for government attention.
“There’s a lack of understanding of the unique needs of rural families,” she said. “No other industry would tolerate children at the workplace the way agriculture does.”
