It's Baaaack......yippee.

[Lee-Bee]

I have some reservations if we were to protest at Queens park, First and foremost I am in Ottawa, no easy feat to arrange a trip to Toronto (the wonderful money issue) and I highly doubt my families would make the trip either. Second, people are getting nervous about the bill and many families are moving their children into centers so as not to lose their spots. This has happened to many of my contemporaries here in Ottawa, we get the child and as soon as they are old enough to go to the "preschool" program the parents give notice. My fear is if we all close for the day in protest some families will then reconsider home based dc. In a center you never have to take a sick day because of your provider, or holidays for that matter. This bill is ruining my life, at the risk of sounding dramatic.
I also want to pose what will probably be a very unpopular question but, where were all the dc providers during the election. The province of Ontario voted the Liberals back in so was it a lack of information or are we not as strong in numbers as I was led to believe. I find this whole situation so depressing. My family depends on me making a decent wage which I don't think will be possible if this bill passes. Thanks for letting me rant

I am quite curious where all the dc providers were for the election as well. The election results baffled me. For the first time in my life I did NOT vote liberals, solely for this cause. Where were all the other home daycare providers? Why were they not standing up for themselves and their profession? If our numbers are so strong and we are so united to prevent this bill from passing then we seriously missed the mark because the election results clearly show that many, many home daycare providers did not take the time to vote or voted against their business. The election was our strongest battle against this bill...and we clearly failed there.

[jodaycare]

I completely agree, i still cant figure out how the Liberals managed to get a majority government. After everything they have done to screw the people of this province, the majority still voted for them. The sad thing is that no matter how much we try to stop them, the opposition parties have absolutely no power anymore to stop the liberals. This bill can pass very quickly because of the majority, they can do what they want!

[cfred]

I was surprised as anyone about the Liberals getting back in. To insinuate that other providers didn't vote appropriately isn't really fair. We really didn't have a chance against the public sector. There are lots of us, but not enough to throw the balance off by that much. Unless every single provider went out and voted PC, I'm not sure we had a chance at all. It's a moot point anyway. What's done is done. All we can do is carry on and see what action we can take now.

Madmom, I understand your concerns. We're all in the same boat. My family wholly depends on my income from the daycare. I am a single parent to 3 and this is our only source of income. We all have a lot at stake here. The Liberals have won, so our best avenue to block the bill is lost. I cried about it...in front of a client I might add! But, being strong people, we must carry on and see what we can do next. It seems to me, that if you're that worried about the stability of your profession/business, this is the next best option. Surely it's more productive than worrying but doing nothing. Sitting and complaining will gain us nothing. Action might. We are not talking about going on strike and leaving everyone high and dry. This is not a hostile protest. It is simply all providers meeting at Queen's Park and making ourselves visible to the public in a positive, proactive way with a unified, cohesive message. What is the absolute worst that can happen? If your clients are already bailing for daycare centres, what difference is this going to make?

So far as other concerns about annoying the parents and encouraging them to leave to larger facilities...really? I've spoken to my clients and they're all on board. They may not go to Queen's Park (though some will), but they value what we do and are willing to support me. Give your clients a chance to understand the concerns for the industry and let them see your passion for it and they might just surprise you! All the public has seen of our cause so far is the fractured messages and whining that we've all been seeing on various websites, including this one. The Coalition is working towards putting together a list of points based on the CCPRN recommendations as our core message...1 message that we can deliver as a group. In a public gathering on Queen's Park, we will have media present so we can relay that singular message to the public in a cohesive, articulate manner as a united front. We have NEVER even had a shot at this before...ever!

I've just spoken to Heidi now and it is every provider meeting on the same day, at the same time, with the same message in a designated spot in each city. This is great! Not a daunting trip now! Please, please consider coming on board with this project. We actually might be heard this time. OH...she also told me that, unbeknownst to any of us, politicians are not obligated to read email letters from the public, but they are for mailed letters. At least that's what I understood. Soooo, my clients will all be met with a pre stamped envelope for each MPP Next week, I'll be emailing CP24 by the request of another provider and will set up an appointment to meet with the PC MPP of our region. This project requires the participation of all of us to work!

[playfelt]

Parents were worried about the education cuts and there are five families for every provider.

[CrazyEight]

Ugh, can anyone help me out? I posted info about the Bill in a few facebook groups for moms, and have now been attacked by a provider who is insisting that the age restrictions have always been there for independent providers. Obviously this is not true, but I don't want to get into a petty spat over facebook. I have sent her links to the day nurseries act online, and whatisbill143.weebly .com, which I think lays it out very clearly. Any other "official" source I can use? I feel like this is the exact reason the government is able to push this as far and as easily as they are - SO many people just don't know the current laws and think we are running illegal daycares already.

[bright sparks]

Ugh, can anyone help me out? I posted info about the Bill in a few facebook groups for moms, and have now been attacked by a provider who is insisting that the age restrictions have always been there for independent providers. Obviously this is not true, but I don't want to get into a petty spat over facebook. I have sent her links to the day nurseries act online, and whatisbill143.weebly .com, which I think lays it out very clearly. Any other "official" source I can use? I feel like this is the exact reason the government is able to push this as far and as easily as they are - SO many people just don't know the current laws and think we are running illegal daycares already.

That should be quite sufficient and you likely aren't going to be able to produce enough evidence to convince this person otherwise. Why not try the opposite approach and ask them to back up their claims and that way you will be able to clearly identify where they have got their facts wrong and hopefully they will back off. Sorry you have crossed paths with this person.

[cfred]

The DNA is about as credible as it gets, so beyond that, I'm not sure I'd bother with her any more. Just assure her that she's absolutely incorrect and let it rest. There's no point getting into it with someone like that. Is she from Ontario? I've gotten into a couple times with people from other provinces who didn't have the foggiest how things run in Ontario. Really, I wouldn't sweat it at all. I looked for the thread on FB, but couldn't find it. Is it on the Coalition page or Providers against 143?

[CrazyEight]

Neither. I am on both of those, but for some reason my city seems very uneducated about the Bill. There are a ton of "providers" not even following current laws, and many parents just go for the cheapest option they can find. It's incredibly frustrating. Anyways, it's on a children's used clothing site. I simply posted up the info and said anyone who is interested in learning more is free to contact me and I will pass it on. She took it upon herself to tell me that the ratios and restrictions proposed in the new bill are already in effect, and that apparently CAS will back her up.
I worry that the efforts of a few of us here are going to be undermined completely by people such as this, who are simply unaware of the current laws. I'm not planning on getting into it anymore with her, although I would like to ask where she got her current info from. All she has posted in confirmation of her claims is the portion of the DNA that pertains to Day Nurseries...which still doesn't support what she's saying, so I'm pretty confused!
Thanks for the support guys.

[CrazyEight]

Can I clarify with you guys: this person is claiming that CAS gave her the information. Well, I have just searched the CAS website and there is nothing on it about childcare at all. As far as I am aware, CAS is in independent organization and does not set the rules or laws that we as providers must follow. Those are laid out by the ministry of children and families, via the DNA. Am I missing something? Why in the world would CAS be giving out false info about daycare laws?

[cfred]

I know that back in Jan or Feb, some places were citing the new legislation as if it had already passed. I seem to recall this coming up a number of times. Apparently, some of the higher ups were saying that they were to just run things starting at that point under the new legislation, which was, of course, completely false. I believe another person posted that ECE courses were also reflective of the new legislation. I don't know if that was across the board, but I don't doubt it was happening.

I think we have a tough row to hoe here. No doubt about it! However, I do think we at least have a shot at having our issues heard if we all work together at it. I'm finding that many providers just don't want to deal with it. Either they feel it's not going to help anyway or that it might rub a few people the wrong way. They could be right, but really, what have we got to lose at this point? I think the coalition is the best thing to come along in some time as a means of being given a chance to get the appropriate message out there...the one being completely overlooked by the government.