Rachael, by "dragged down to your level" I was referring to your overly restrictive and difficult regulations...which you yourself have said are VERY difficult to work within. And as for rallying to support you...have you rallied for yourselves? Because generally those affected are the ones who start to rally (as we are doing in Ontario) and then others can support their cause. I have not heard anything about your conditions or that you are fighting to have these changed. If I did hear of such rallies, I would be supportive of fellow childcare providers trying to better conditions for themselves and the children in their care.
And yes, every profession goes through changes. And if the changes are truly for the better and increase safety or make things better in some way, then change is good. However, in this case, Bill 10 is not going to make children safer. Statistics in Ontario show that the death rate in licensed daycare is actually higher than in unlicensed. We have an excellent safety record...those of us who are following the current regulations. The current regulations work just fine. What is needed is more enforcement of the rules in order to crack down on those who are running illegal, over-ratio daycares...they are the ones who are causing problems. This Bill unfairly targets all private daycare providers while doing absolutely NOTHING to improve child safety. All it will do is create a daycare shortage and increase in rates. In fact, in some ways, I may be better off...I will have less children but charge more...less work for the same money. But I am fighting this bill because that will be so unfair to families who can barely afford daycare as it is. It will force them to put their children in illegal daycare to save money...and the children will suffer. That is my main reason for fighting this bill.