Why should I subsidize $10 a day daycare?
I have seen the same letter appear in the Letters to The Editor over and over again. The writer states that Burnaby has accepted the concept of the $10 per day daycare.
I live in Burnaby and I have never seen a referendum or even a survey asking if I was in favour of this. I am not in favour. We have paid for our own childcare expenses in the past and should not be asked to pay for this current generation's.
My childcare expenses were listed as a fixed cost directly below my housing costs. I did not shortchange the people who cared for my child because I wanted to ensure that she had quality care. I used my vacation days to cover those days when my child was ill and unable to leave the house. We drove an older car and did not enjoy expensive vacations. We did not go to restaurants often. Even though I worked outside the home, I still prepared meals. We did not eat fast food or preprocessed food. Our priority was the care of our child and we applied our money accordingly.
I would suggest that families forgo their iPhones, PVRs, data plans, entertainment packages, fancy coffees, and put childcare expenses at the top of their budget as a required expense.
I and many of my friends are on fixed incomes that are not indexed. We are faced with increased costs for basic living needs. We cannot afford more increases in either municipal or provincial taxes.
We certainly should not be asked to bear the cost of childcare for the current group of parents.
Norma Vachet
Burnaby
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