On United Nations-designated Universal Children’s Day (November 20), parents, grandparents and workers from across Canada travelled to Parliament Hill to share their first-hand accounts of the child care crisis in Canada with their representatives.
Morna Ballantyne, Executive Director for Child Care Now, which organized the event along with Oxfam Canada, Campaign 2000 and Canadian Federation of University Women, said that, “the event’s goal was to educate MPs and Senators about the child care related issues facing their fellow Canadians.” The child care advocates secured more than 60 meetings with Members of Parliament and Senators from all parties, urging them to be child care champions by committing to play a positive role in building a publicly-funded and managed system of child care for Canada.
The vast majority of the Members of Parliament and Senators identified themselves as supporters of the movement and committed to advocating for increased funding for child care as well as advocating for a universal, high-quality child care system. Many committed to follow-up discussions and town halls within their ridings to further address the issue, with advocates vowing to continue to push for better child care policies at home.
