Child-care study starting late, says opposition
Last Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009 | 8:10 AM AT
CBC News
Opposition leader Olive Crane is questioning the timing of the P.E.I. government's decision to study the economic impact of moving kindergarten from child-care centres to the school system.
'A lot of the information they seem to be gathering is already there.'— Opposition leader Olive Crane
Education Minister Gerard Greenan announced Thursday the review by Charlottetown-based MRSB, which will look at issues such as how many early childhood centres exist and possible options to assist the sector and individual centres in light of the business they will lose with kindergartens moving out.
Crane said she's surprised government is only getting around to this study now.
"Usually you do a cost-benefit analysis before you'd make such a policy change," she said.
Crane added that much of what the government appears to want studied is already available.
"The sector really knows what it needs. They'd be able to tell you how many special-needs children they have, the geographic relationship of how many centres, so a lot of the information they seem to be gathering is already there," she said.
Crane said she hopes the review looks at wages. She noted people can earn more working at a call centre than they can in a day-care centre.
If government is serious about keeping teachers and improving the early-childhood sector, she said one of the first places to look is helping centre owners pay higher salaries.
