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March 8 2006 - Equality and child care need protection in the face of Conservative attacks, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

"On this International Women's Day we need to mobilize against the negative impact of the Conservatives killing the child care deals across Canada," said CUPE national president Paul Moist. "Harper must honour the deals and restore the funding."

Moist argues that women cannot fully engage in Canada's economic, social, political and cultural life without quality child care.

"We only have a patchwork child care system right now and if Harper thinks that's good enough to help with women's equality then he has truly shown his disdain for Canadian values," Moist said. "This prime minister is not committed to women's equality and social programs."

The union considers that more and more women with children are in the workforce and they (and their families) need quality child care. Without this key social support there will always be a drag on women's economic and social independence.

A Women's Task Force was created during CUPE's 2005 national convention to explore ways of making the union more inclusive of women at all levels. This includes looking at how a lack of child care affects CUPE's members.

"Women still face pay equity struggles, an increased likelihood of poverty and potentially violent relationships," he said. "The least this country could do is provide a universal, accessible and quality child care program to help alleviate some of these pressures."

CUPE is Canada's largest union, with 540,000 members providing public services in communities across the country, including health care, child care, municipal services and more.

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