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What's Your Political Stripe
- Are you more like George Bush or Nelson Mandella? Pope Jean Paul II or the Dalai Lama? Take a 5 minute test and find out where you fit. Email me your results if you want along with which Alberta Party you support today; PC, Liberal or NDP. I'll compile the results and post them here; anonymously of course.
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Ralph Klein has gone and it is time to retire Ralph's World. Thanks to all of you who have supported this venture by contributing material and through your comments. It has been fun.
Should we get another blog underway? Let me know your thoughts by e-mailing me at johnnyslow@gmail.com.
John Slow
January 1, 2007
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Martha's musings on kids, surpluses and zucchini
August Martha's Monthly
Dear Marthas (and our few Henrys)
You have no doubt heard this month about Alberta's great feat: no debt. As hollow as that fact is, it has generated much discussion on what to do with Alberta's surpluses. And this week crude oil hit US$43 a barrel. The Klein government had estimated it at the extremely conservative price of US$26 a barrel when they produced their budget. With every $1 increase in the crude oil price Alberta's royalty cut is worth $65 million a year. The numbers are staggering: over $1 Billion surplus this year! We have a massive and snowballing government surplus. And it has been the women and children of Alberta that have most suffered from
government cutbacks blamed on soaring costs and limited revenues. So now we ask Mr. Klein and his government, What will your first priority be? And we suggest there are many ways to alleviate the burden on women, but first we should be funding the provision of the best publicly funded, universally accessible, early childhood development system in Canada. Quality childcare is the cornerstone of an enlightened society. The stats on childcare, themselves, are enlightening:
* In 1984, the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment pointed out that "childcare is the ramp that provides equal access to the workforce for mothers".
* A record number of parents are now employed. Canada has gone from having the lowest proportion of working women among major industrialized countries to a record high participation rate of 71%.(Statistics Canada 2004)
* 83% of married couples with children have two or more earners and the percentage of female lone-parent families with at least one earner has soared to 82%. (Vanier Institute for the Family, 2003)
* There are only enough licensed and regulated childcare spaces for approximately 1 in 10 of Canada's young children. (Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 2001.)
*Future productivity of children who receive quality early educational experiences results in $2 in benefits for every public $1 spent on childcare. (The Benefits and Costs of Good Child care, Cleveland and Krashinksy, 1998, Canada.)
*Canada currently compares poorly when it comes to publicly funded childcare. Canada has fallen farther behind many countries in the provision of childcare e.g., in Canada, only 5% of three-year-olds participate in preschool, compared with nearly 100% in France, Belgium, Italy, Iceland and New Zealand. (For more information read the whole text of the above at http://www.childcareadvocacy.ca or http://www.parentvoices.ca)
In April 2003 Mr. Klein launched Alberta's Promise (see webpage: http://www.albertaspromise.org) and made it's promise to encourage Albertans to become "heroes to our children". Then in October 2003 Alberta's Learning Commission produced its report which spoke strongly in favor of pre-kindergarten for all children stating that there is "a significant return on investment to society when high-quality early childhood development programs are provided by capable and well-trained teachers."(see
Commission report: http://www.learning.gov.ab.ca/Commission) The two recommendations from the Learning Commission regarding provision of junior kindergarten (ie preschool) and full day kindergarten are still "under review".
Alberta also needs to address the wages, working conditions, training/professional development and retention requirements of the child care sector. Did you realize that Alberta's average pay for childcare workers is $8.36 per hour? This, sadly, is about the same amount of money that a parking lot attendant would make, suggesting that we value the future of our cars about as much as we value the future of our children. No wonder Alberta has a childcare staff turnover rate of 45%. (among the highest in
the country).
There are no shortage of excellent models. France, Sweden, and Japan have all taken different routes. We can compare the models and choose what works best for Albertans. (To read more about models see: http://www.cprn.com/en/doc.cfm?doc=15) Some pay parents of young children to stay home with their children or hire a live-in caregiver. Others provide universal daycare for all children, regardless of their parent's employment status or income. In Canada we offer tax deductions for some forms of childcare but only if both parents are employed or in school. (And tax deductions like this favor the higher income earners. Those with moderate or low incomes do not benefit.)
In May 2004 Today's Parent compared childcare across Canada. Alberta rated in the bottom half. Overall our grade was C- but on provincial spending we rated only a D. (see the whole report and backgrounder to it at http://www.todaysparent.com/lifeasparent/childcare/article.jsp?content=20040408_151016_4820)
It is a depressing fact that Alberta actually spends less per capita today on childcare than we were spending 10 years ago. With our "debt" wiped out, record surpluses, and increasing crude oil prices isn't it about time that our children (and their parents) start to benefit from the "Alberta Advantage"?
Please forward the following letter to Mr. Klein. Put your name and address at the bottom. Send it to premier@gov.ab.ca and marthasmonthly@yahoo.ca Please CC it to Kevin Taft (Liberal Leader) at Edmonton.Riverview@assembly.ab.ca and Brian Mason (NDP Leader) at Edmonton.Highlands@assembly.ab.ca
Dear Marthas (and our few Henrys)
You have no doubt heard this month about Alberta's great feat: no debt. As hollow as that fact is, it has generated much discussion on what to do with Alberta's surpluses. And this week crude oil hit US$43 a barrel. The Klein government had estimated it at the extremely conservative price of US$26 a barrel when they produced their budget. With every $1 increase in the crude oil price Alberta's royalty cut is worth $65 million a year. The numbers are staggering: over $1 Billion surplus this year! We have a massive and snowballing government surplus. And it has been the women and children of Alberta that have most suffered from
government cutbacks blamed on soaring costs and limited revenues. So now we ask Mr. Klein and his government, What will your first priority be? And we suggest there are many ways to alleviate the burden on women, but first we should be funding the provision of the best publicly funded, universally accessible, early childhood development system in Canada. Quality childcare is the cornerstone of an enlightened society. The stats on childcare, themselves, are enlightening:
* In 1984, the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment pointed out that "childcare is the ramp that provides equal access to the workforce for mothers".
* A record number of parents are now employed. Canada has gone from having the lowest proportion of working women among major industrialized countries to a record high participation rate of 71%.(Statistics Canada 2004)
* 83% of married couples with children have two or more earners and the percentage of female lone-parent families with at least one earner has soared to 82%. (Vanier Institute for the Family, 2003)
* There are only enough licensed and regulated childcare spaces for approximately 1 in 10 of Canada's young children. (Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 2001.)
*Future productivity of children who receive quality early educational experiences results in $2 in benefits for every public $1 spent on childcare. (The Benefits and Costs of Good Child care, Cleveland and Krashinksy, 1998, Canada.)
*Canada currently compares poorly when it comes to publicly funded childcare. Canada has fallen farther behind many countries in the provision of childcare e.g., in Canada, only 5% of three-year-olds participate in preschool, compared with nearly 100% in France, Belgium, Italy, Iceland and New Zealand. (For more information read the whole text of the above at http://www.childcareadvocacy.ca or http://www.parentvoices.ca)
In April 2003 Mr. Klein launched Alberta's Promise (see webpage: http://www.albertaspromise.org) and made it's promise to encourage Albertans to become "heroes to our children". Then in October 2003 Alberta's Learning Commission produced its report which spoke strongly in favor of pre-kindergarten for all children stating that there is "a significant return on investment to society when high-quality early childhood development programs are provided by capable and well-trained teachers."(see
Commission report: http://www.learning.gov.ab.ca/Commission) The two recommendations from the Learning Commission regarding provision of junior kindergarten (ie preschool) and full day kindergarten are still "under review".
Alberta also needs to address the wages, working conditions, training/professional development and retention requirements of the child care sector. Did you realize that Alberta's average pay for childcare workers is $8.36 per hour? This, sadly, is about the same amount of money that a parking lot attendant would make, suggesting that we value the future of our cars about as much as we value the future of our children. No wonder Alberta has a childcare staff turnover rate of 45%. (among the highest in
the country).
There are no shortage of excellent models. France, Sweden, and Japan have all taken different routes. We can compare the models and choose what works best for Albertans. (To read more about models see: http://www.cprn.com/en/doc.cfm?doc=15) Some pay parents of young children to stay home with their children or hire a live-in caregiver. Others provide universal daycare for all children, regardless of their parent's employment status or income. In Canada we offer tax deductions for some forms of childcare but only if both parents are employed or in school. (And tax deductions like this favor the higher income earners. Those with moderate or low incomes do not benefit.)
In May 2004 Today's Parent compared childcare across Canada. Alberta rated in the bottom half. Overall our grade was C- but on provincial spending we rated only a D. (see the whole report and backgrounder to it at http://www.todaysparent.com/lifeasparent/childcare/article.jsp?content=20040408_151016_4820)
It is a depressing fact that Alberta actually spends less per capita today on childcare than we were spending 10 years ago. With our "debt" wiped out, record surpluses, and increasing crude oil prices isn't it about time that our children (and their parents) start to benefit from the "Alberta Advantage"?
Please forward the following letter to Mr. Klein. Put your name and address at the bottom. Send it to premier@gov.ab.ca and marthasmonthly@yahoo.ca Please CC it to Kevin Taft (Liberal Leader) at Edmonton.Riverview@assembly.ab.ca and Brian Mason (NDP Leader) at Edmonton.Highlands@assembly.ab.ca
Please consider forwarding this email to other Marthas in Alberta. If they wish to be added to our list have them email marthasmonthly@yahoo.ca Thanks!
The Honorable Ralph Klein,
Premier of Alberta,
Legislative Assemble of Alberta
307 Legislature Building
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
August 8, 2004
Dear Premier Klein:
The Marthas of Alberta have been busy this summer. We are raising our children (and grandchildren), working hard inside and outside the home, and we are watching the Province's surplus blossom faster than our zucchini patches. Mr. Klein, we
are proud of our Province but we hang our head in shame when it comes to our Province's record on providing the highest quality childcare in Canada. In fact, a recent Canada wide assessment of childcare has Alberta ranking among the bottom of all the provinces. I find this a very strange condition for the only debt free province. Now that our province is out of debt and you are looking for ways to spend, it would seem appropriate to turn your attention to the future of our province, our children.
In April 2003 you launched Alberta's Promise and made it's mission to help Albertans become "heroes to our children". It was followed up by The Report of the Learning Commission that spoke strongly in favor of pre-kindergarten for all children stating that there is "a significant return on investment to society when high-quality early childhood development programs are
provided by capable and well-trained teachers." Well Mr. Klein we could not agree more. We wish to encourage you to be a hero to all children in the Province by funding a universally available, quality early childhood development program that is provided by capable, well-trained, and properly remunerated teachers.
Mr. Klein, Alberta needs to address the wages, working conditions, training/professional development and retention requirements of the child care sector. Alberta's median pay for childcare workers is $8.36 per hour. This, sadly, is
about the same amount of money that a parking lot attendant would make, suggesting that we value the future of our cars about as much as we value the future of our children. No wonder Alberta has a staggering childcare staff turnover rate of 45%.
We believe that conditions must be put into place that will require the Alberta government to spend Federal funds to supplement, not replace, Provincial child care funding. It is a depressing fact that Alberta actually spends less (per Capita) today
on childcare than we spent 10 years ago.
Alberta needs to address affordability for all families; provide funding to hire, train, and retain quality staff; make a promise to direct Federal funding into supplementing Provincial spending; ensure accessibility to all Albertans; increase the availability of licensed, regulated child care spots; and provide options for families to make real choices about who cares for their children.
Sincerely,
Your name
Your address
Your email
