To the editor:

I have been an early childhood educator for over 20 years and I have seen and heard first hand what happens when wages for our professional early years’ workers are too low to make a good living for themselves and their families. It affects them as much as it diminishes quality care, the ability to open new childcare centres and to advance in their learnings.

Less than 20 per cent of children under the age of 12 in B.C. have access to quality regulated child care which in turn depletes the amount of women in the workforce by a great number. Women spend more time performing unpaid child care; women are more likely to become early childhood educators. Women are also more likely to be single parents, therefore the best effective solution to me and many others is for our government to adopt the $10 a day childcare plan. This will result in more quality child care space for children, affordability for families, better wages and level of education for our educators. Act now and it will save the economy and our children in the long run. Thank you and let’s take care of the children and women of our province.

Sylve Fersch, Vernon