To mark International Women's Day, members of the Calgary and Lethbridge Regional Women's Committees released the final postcard in their campaign for universal childcare. The committees' regional campaign encourages local MPs and MLAs in the Prairies to take action on the issue of child care and work together to create a national child care program.
Canadians can input their postal code and send a letter to their MP and MLA, with a Cc to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. There is also an option to include personal comments.
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The idea stemmed from conversations at the 2016 Prairies Regional Women's Conference. Through a series of conference calls and emails that followed, the Committees developed the No More Fairy Tales campaign with an online action.
"We recognize that universal, affordable, quality, inclusive childcare/early childhood education has been long promised and short delivered in Canada," said Shannan Little, President of the Lethbridge and Area Regional Women's Committee. "With new governments in both Alberta and Canada, we realize that there is opportunity to make some real progress on this issue. We want to remind these new governments (and other governments in provinces other than Alberta), that they made promises about childcare, early childhood education, and women's participation in society. We want more than stories. Hence, No More Fairy Tales."
Deb Kosteniuk, President of the Calgary Regional Women's Committee, shares the sentiment. "We hope the campaign will remind our communities and our elected officials that words spoken must translate to action," she said. "While we recognize there has been some progress in terms of childcare in Alberta, we need to see our federal government participate in action on childcare improvements to ensure a shared framework results."
For more information on the call for universal child care, visit the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) and Public Interest Alberta (PIA).
