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LETTER: Public dollars should support non-profits first

Dear editor: I am a veteran early childhood educator and very gratified at the progress our current government has made to make publicly funded, accessible child care an established system in our province.
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Dear editor:

I am a veteran early childhood educator and very gratified at the progress our current government has made to make publicly funded, accessible child care an established system in our province.  I know there is a long way to go, however, significant steps have been taken and must be acknowledged. In addition, the extensive work and sound research of the $10 a day child care plan must be recognized as the foundation of this initiative.

I was disappointed to read in the Feb. 13 issue of the North Shore News (Province Funds New Child Care Spaces in N. Van) that three child care centres in our community, all independent, for-profit enterprises, received government funding to increase spaces.

As we move towards a provincial, publicly funded child care system, part of this transition must be the removal of public dollars from private entrepreneurial child care. Therefore, even though increased child care spaces are urgently needed, the first priority should be to support those applicants that are viable non-profit organizations in good standing. This, together with the implementation of changing the criteria for eligibility for public funds, is a logical step in the process of establishing a truly public system.

June Maynard
North Vancouver