The Early Years Coalition of Waterloo Region will host a virtual all-candidates meeting May 24 on child care and family issues.
The coalition of child care operators and advocates from across Waterloo Region invited each registered political party to send one candidate to represent them at this meeting. Rather than a panel or debate-style event, the town hall-style event will allow for greater public engagement. Each candidate will have the opportunity to provide brief opening remarks before all participants are broken off into breakout rooms the candidates then take turns visiting to answer questions from participants about their party’s platform with respect to child care and family issues.
“Child care is an important issue in this provincial election,” said Rising Oaks Early Learning CEO, Lori Prospero.
“Parents are waiting on promised fee reductions and the sector is experiencing a workforce crisis. Now more than ever, we need a government that supports professional pay for the child care workforce if it hopes to deliver on the Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement. We hope participants gain insights into each party’s plan that will help them decide how to cast their vote on June 2”
Date: May 24, 2022
Place: On Zoom – to register: https://bit.ly/3LwBfWZ
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Candidates who have confirmed their attendance are: From the Green Party of Ontario, Cambridge candidate, Carla Johnson; from the Ontario Liberal Party, Kitchener-Conestoga candidate, Melanie Van Alphen; and from the Ontario NDP, Kitchener Centre candidate, Laura Mae Lindo.
Both the Ontario Progressive Conservative and New Blue Party of Ontario either didn’t respond to EYCWR’s request, or cited scheduling conflicts.
All members of the public are invited to attend this town hall. In addition, the EYCWR also sent out a survey on the same topic to all candidates in Waterloo Region. See if and how candidates responded: https://bit.ly/3sMfSuq.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact Roz Gunn, YWCA Cambridge Director of Advocacy and Communications, r.gunn[@]ywcacambridge.ca
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The Early Years Coalition Waterloo Region is a group of educators, parents and other early years professionals in this Region who have come together to lend our voice to the movement for an affordable, universal child care system – including professional pay and decent work for educators. We are volunteers and aim to inform interested individuals of opportunities to get involved and to lend their support to this important advocacy. We work with guidance from the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. We are non-partisan in our work. Ultimately, we believe that everyone depends on someone who depends on child care!