SATURDAY, JUNE %, 1973

“TO GIVE THE NEWS IMPARTIALLY, WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR, REGARDLESS OF ANY PARTY, SECT OR INTEREST INVOLVED,"

Polos

It is rare indeed these days when one hears of a municipal council approving a development plan that might allow for kids, poor .people, non-conformists or pets.

Imagine our surprise, then, when Port Coquitlam council this past week gave first two readings to a bylaw amendment that would permit day-care facilities to be established in private homes throughout the city.

The bylaw amendment is loaded with restrictions -—~ minimim play area requirements, conformation with the Comminity Care Facilities Act, individual application approval by council. feneing and advertising requirements, etc, But most of the restrictions simply are sensible precautions, such as the provision that cach must be more than half a mile from an arterial highway.

We're delighted that the alder- men are taking such an enlightened view of the day-care needs in the area. While loca] figures are not

e vote for the children

compiled, a complete picture of national needs indicates the im- portance of the day-care problem. Of the 115 million working women in Canada, more than 500,000 have one or more children under the age of 14.

DO RUNG

Of these approximately 124 million

children about 380,000 are preschoolers whose mothers aren't with them during all or part of the day, and 695,000 are under 14s with unsupervised before-and-after school hours.

It is obvious since these children make up a substantial proportion of our future adult population that it is our social responsibility to provide facilities for their care. In fact, the issue goes beyond responsibility to necessity — physical and psychological problems of childhood, if not treated at an early Stage, become more costly to the

community — both socially and financially — in the adult years.

Until the past year or two, the need for proper facilitics, par- ticularly for pre-schoolers, was grossly neglected. This situation has improved as the result of the efforts of a large number of concerned groups of women and child care workers. It was a major step for- ward when the NDP government announced its subsidized assistance for day care beginning April 1.

Earlier, Human Resources Minister Norm Levi announced dollar-for dollar matching of capital costs of day care centres operated by non-profit organizations to en- courage establishment of properly Tun and equipped centres, Mr. Levi Particularly encouraged employers and unions to becore involved in on- site day care facilities, .

- The capital-cost assistance program, however, does not really

solve the problem of care for children under the age of three and

over the age of six. It is the parent of these children who especially will welcome decisions such as Port Coquitlam’s to encourage such centres in private homes.

Very young children need the close relationships which a family day-care home prevides, rather than a group day care centre. Milder children, of course, need supervision only before and after school.

We hope that all area councils follow PoCo’s lead. There are im- mediate, as well as long-term, advantages to the community in providing proper care and super- vision of children.

We hope, too, that the resolve of PoCo aldermen in Passing the bylaw amendment will not be shaken by the first ratepayer protest which will inevitably greet any application. It takes a lot of courage for politicians to buck the heads-in-the-sand ap- Proach of most ratepayer groups to social problems, but our children deserve that kind of gumption.