Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The fight continues for a national child care program. As outlined in the Throne Speech on Tuesday, the Harper government is moving forward on financial support for families and ignoring the need for quality child care options.

Here are two press releases issued by the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada and a backgrounder on the Conservative’s Community Child Care Investment Program.

• Click for Throne Speech - New government must tackle stable funding for child care press release issued on April 3, 2006.
• Click for Child care to become focus of Parliamentary struggle: Throne Speech shows no compromise press release issued April 4, 2006.
• Here is the backgrounder on the Conservative’s Community Child Care Investment Program.

OTTAWA - The Conservatives may talk about transparency but the Speech from the Throne was far from clear on the details of the government’s plans for the upcoming session of Parliament according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada.

“The Speech was long on rhetoric but short on specifics,” says PSAC National President Nycole Turmel. “PSAC members will be waiting for the real news when the government tables its Accountability Act and its first budget.”

According to Turmel, “the Conservatives are promising ‘real protection for whistleblowers’, but we have yet to see just what that means. Real protection for our members means a guarantee of no reprisals and real penalties levied against anyone who breaks that guarantee.”

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The April 4 Speech from the Throne will set out the agenda of Canada’s new Conservative government. This is a crucial moment for the government to commit to more and better aid.

All leaders of opposition parties in the last Parliament (including Stephen Harper) called for a legislative mandate for aid through a new law that would commit foreign aid spending to one goal – ending poverty. So even with a minority government now in power, Members of Parliament from all parties can collaborate to Make Poverty History.

Visit www.makepovertyhistory.ca to send an email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as your own Member of Parliament.

Wear your White Band on April 4! And make your voice heard!

Here is a letter the co-chairs of Make Poverty History sent Stephen Harper on March 1st …

Dear Prime Minister,

Congratulations on your election as Canada’s 22nd Prime Minister.

Make Poverty History is a broadly-based campaign, linked to a global effort active in more than 80 countries. Here in Canada over 700 organizations and a quarter million individuals have endorsed the campaign objectives of more and better aid, trade justice, cancellation of the debts of the poorest countries, and eradication of child poverty in Canada. During the recent federal election, sixty Conservative candidates publicly supported these goals. One hundred and seventy eight members of the new Parliament, from all parties, have publicly supported our campaign objectives. Now is the moment to transform this majority support into concrete action.

Mr. Prime Minister, we are writing to request your leadership to Make Poverty History at two crucial moments in the near future.

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