City sits on day care money

Civic officials are rethinking a $2.3-million child care plan jeopardized by a political pledge in Ottawa. The newly elected Conservative government of Stephen Harper has vowed to kill a federal initiative of its Liberal predecessors that could have brought 160 new day care spaces to the area. Under the scheme, Kingston and Frontenac County were to get millions annually in federal money to create new child care spaces, improve services in schools and provide more early intervention programs for children in need.

The city has the first-year funding, $2.32 million, in the bank, but has not yet spent any of the cash. "We’ve got the money and we’re not giving it back," Lance Thurston, King-ston’s commissioner of community development services, said in an interview yesterday. Thurston said the outgoing Liberal administration knew that a policy shift might come after the election, so they passed on the cash some time ago. "They wanted to get this money to us before it got frozen, which was great," he said.

A committee of city staff, county staff, officials from the school boards and representatives from community agencies have been working together for more than six months to draft a comprehensive plan. The group produced a 67-page report that documents existing child care programs, facilities and related services, including early intervention and special needs programs. The $2.32 million in first-year funding, for 2005-06, is a lump sum, unconditional grant. The only requirement calls for it to be spent on child care initiatives. Thurston’s department was supposed to bring a detailed plan to city politicians for approval this month.

It outlines the creation of more than 160 new child care spaces in six regions that have been defined after months of study, including underserviced areas of north Frontenac. The money was to provide new spaces in schools, community facilities and in licensed home day-cares and it would pay some new staff, particularly for children with special needs. Roughly 30 per cent of the new spaces would be subsidized. Thurston said within a day or so of the detailed plan landing on his desk, word came that the Conservatives pledged to kill the funding scheme, replacing it with lump sum payments to families of $1,200 a child.

Thurston put the presentation of the city’s plan on hold. "Any money that had been sent to us we could keep, but there would be no new monies," he said. "If we proceed with the plan that has been prepared by the steering committee, go to council and get it approved and start spending all this money ... are we setting up an expectation that that’s going to be the level of service?" he said. Once the federal money is exhausted, the city would have to hike taxes two to three per cent to make up the loss or ask the province to step in. "What do we now do, knowing that the money has been shut off?” Thurston said. “It really fundamentally changes how you go about planning for the future." He said the committee is meeting to reconsider the plan. The Kingston-Frontenac area was to receive $2.32 million for the second year of the program and $4.15 million for the third year. This week, the federal Liberals said they will fight the Conservatives over the plan to cancel the child care initiative, although party officials did not say they’ll vote against the minority Conservative government.

Parliament resumes in Ottawa in April.