LIBERALS WANT REVIEW OF PROVINCES DAYCARE SERVICES
Date: Monday November 2, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal MLA and community services critic Manning
MacDonald introduced legislation today that would see a complete
government review of Nova Scotia’s strained daycare services.

“The province really needs to take stock of its daycare services,”
said MacDonald. “Clearly, there is a shortage of daycare spaces in our
province. In order to remedy this shortage, we need to have an
understanding of the issue - how many subsidized spaces are available?
How many is enough? Where are daycare spaces needed the most?”

“The problem is no one in government has the answers to these
questions.”

The recent closure of the YMCA Daycare in East Dartmouth highlighted
the need for a complete review of daycare services. MacDonald believes
the current government is operating without a comprehensive plan for the
delivery of daycare services in Nova Scotia.

“Frankly, the patchwork solutions put forward by this government do
not adequately meet the current need for daycare - we need a provincial
framework on which to build,” MacDonald states. “This review would
provide the context and the information government needs to build a real
road map for daycare in Nova Scotia.”

“We know how challenging it is to find daycare spaces in Nova Scotia
- the wait can be years long,” said MacDonald. “Let’s not wait
years for this review - Nova Scotia families need government to act
immediately.”

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