Advisory childcare appointments tilt to role of employers.

Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Diane Finley emphasizes the role of employers for the government's Child Care Initiatives. Her instructions to the newly appointed advisory committee on Child Care Space begins with, "to provide advice on the childcare needs of Canadian families and the role and interests of employers, with a focus on improving accessibility to childcare for all families."

Finley appointed a committee that includes a number of people with interests in business and childcare. Dr. Gordon Chong will chair the Committee. Chong is currently Chair of the Social Housing Services Corporation of the City of Toronto.

The committee includes members with different points of view to childcare issues. One member, Don Giesbrecht, is the President of the Canadian Child Care Federation and the Executive Director of the Assiniboine Children's Centre in Winnipeg. He has been a critic of government policies.

Another is Bill Robson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto. The conservative think tank he heads recently published a paper that advocates a "targeted approach," and does not support the Conservative government's system of direct payments to parents.

The membership includes Victoria Sipok of Ajax, ON who owns and operates Kids and Company, a chain of 14 childcare centres in Ontario.

The committee will also "advise on the approach and mechanisms required to effectively design and implement the Child Care Spaces Initiative."

The Child Care Spaces Initiative is one component of the Government's Universal Child Care Plan. The Initiative will support the creation of new childcare spaces in communities across Canada provided by employers, for profit childcare and non-profit organizations.

The other component is the Universal Child Care Benefit that provides parents with $100 per month for each child under six.

The Committee will present Minister Finley with a report outlining its advice and recommendations within the next three months.

Other members of the Committee include: Bill Edwards, Saskatoon, small business Owner and Operator, and Founding President, Canadian Association of Family Enterprises; Michelle Olson, Edmonton, President, Home By Choice Association of Alberta, a support group for morns who stay at home to look after their families; Georgina Steinsky-Schwartz, Toronto, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imagine Canada, a national advocacy and public policy voice for the voluntary sector; Floyd Sully, Vancouver, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Syscon Justice Systems Ltd., a company that provides management systems for justice services; Mr. Michael Weil, President and Chief Executive Officer of YMCA Canada. Nora Spinks, Work-Life Harmony Enterprises, is the committee's facilitator.

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