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.