The UCP eliminated accreditation last year, quality standards for child care. @rebeccakschulz committed to addressing it in the new legislation. That didn't happen. I tabled an amendment to expressly include quality standards in the legislation. The UCP voted that down. #ableg
I tabled amendments to recognize affordability & inclusiveness as critical for families, the important role of qualified & supported educators, children's right to access quality early learning & the importance of indigenous families & educators. The UCP voted these down. #ableg
I tabled an amendment that would go beyond simply adding "early learning" to the title of the Act and focused on early learning as a key element of a child care program. The UCP voted this down. #ableg
In response to the Woolfsmith Fatality Inquiry (looking into the death of a 22 month-old child in unlicensed dayhome), I tabled amendments to make unlicensed child care safer. They included decreasing the # of children permitted in unlicensed care (similar to other provinces)...
...requiring parents to be told that their care-provider was unlicensed, and establishing the ability for a registry of unlicensed providers so that at a minimum, it was known who was providing unlicensed child care. The UCP voted all of these amendments down. #ableg
What the new legislation will do is make the licensing process slightly less burdensome. That's fine. But we have a child care sector in crisis, parents desperate to return to work, under-valued & under-supported educators & children who deserve access to quality early learning.
Nothing in the legislation that is about to become law makes Alberta's early learning and child care system safer, more affordable, more accessible, or higher quality.
(P.S. I would post a link to the amended Act and the new Regulations, but it's not accessible yet, despite the Minister promising to share the draft regulations for feedback before they come into effect.) #ableg
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I've been an elected official for the same amount of time as the 5 (so far) UCP MLAs who decided that taking a warm vacation while telling Albertans to stay home was OK.
I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how in the world they came to that conclusion. #ableg
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When you enter politics, you know your actions will rightfully be subject to public scrutiny. Not just because there's more attention, but also because you've asked the public to place their trust in you. You're expected to lead by example. Never more so than during a crisis.
Every day, I have moments where I reflect on my actions. Sometimes I'm sure I got it wrong. But the importance of that reflection has been heightened during the pandemic. It's brand new to all of us, I need to not only be seen to do the right thing, but I have to lead by example.
Tonight I'm reflecting on the incredible & overwhelming work, resilience & commitment of Alberta's teachers, school staff, administrators & school boards over the past 4 months. And I want to tell them all that I bear witness. #ableg#abed
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I watched as my daughter's Kindergarten teacher cheerfully spent extra time outside w/ them so she could take her mask off to show them how her mouth looked when she pronounced French words that were new to them. The kids had no idea this was different than usual. #ableg
I watched as my son's Grade 2 teacher brilliantly signed them up for virtual City Hall School and my son might now be more excited about what happens at City Hall than the Legislature. His teacher has done extraordinary things to keep them engaged & he's never loved school more.
At the time we called for it, @jkenney dismissed the idea claiming "It's becoming apparent that the NDP doesn't even understand the science of the rapid testing...because it is scientifically useless on people who are asymptomatic.” cbc.ca/1.5832078
Glad to hear that the Premier was able to put aside his political posturing, get briefed by his health officials & take into consideration that his own govt had already been using rapid testing on travellers at airports. #ableg
An important article about the role of a national child care program for economic recovery. It includes a specific message about the benefit in provinces like Alberta:
“Politically it is important to note that while most of the initiative and fiscal support for national ELCC is coming from Ottawa, provincial governments would benefit enormously from the new system.”
“Provincial GDP would grow, tens of thousands of jobs would be created, and provincial revenues would grow by $8-14 billion per year. In fact, the biggest gains would be experienced in those provinces with the weakest existing ELCC systems: the Prairies and Ontario.”
The “fund-the-parent” model assumes that parents have unfettered choice in child care, which they don’t. Their choices are constrained by cost, location, availability, scheduling, etc. #ableg
It also assumes that all parents are informed “consumers” of child care, which again they aren’t. Most parents don’t know what to look for in terms of “quality” & it may become less of a factor compared to cost, availability, etc. #ableg
There has been some Cdn research that also shows many parents don’t even realize that their private dayhome is unlicensed & not subject to any safety or quality standards. #ableg
“Silver bullets are rare in social policy, but in childcare, one does exist: set up high-quality, universal child care...it will benefit children, families, & the country’s economy. It’s not the cure that’s the mystery here but what took the good doctor so long to prescribe it.”
“It’s not like children are thriving under the status quo. More than one in four Canadian kids enter school without all the skills...to equip them for success.”