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8- PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 25, 1995 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" JEFF MITCHELL/PORT PERRY STAR LITTLE PROTESTERS: Children from the Utica Daycare centre converged on the Bowmanville constituency office of MPP John O'Toole last Thursday to protest against provincial cuts to daycare subsidies. The wage subsidies have been spared for now, but are under review by the province. Mr. O'Toole promised to pass the message along. * 3M Scotchguard Broadloom * Upholstery Durbar Stearn Cleaning °lLoose Rugs 985-8552 _-- Co ----_ ~E=> LISHMAINS It's hot, hot, hot! 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Port Perry Dental Centre is proud to provide its patients with state of the art care in a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere, and also offer these services. Relaxation Techniques * Nitrous Oxide (gas) * Cosmetic Bonding * Emergency Care * ® FREE HALF BACK PASS * Insurance Assignments * Evening and Saturday Appointments « WE'RE READY TO SERVE YOUR NEEDS Daycare kids, officials protest cuts in funding By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star They may have dodged a funding bullet this time, but daycare centres such as the one in Utica will have to examine alterna- tive methods of operating in a future filled with cuts, says Durham East MPP John O'Toole. | Mr. O'Toole said child care will have to be a community concern, carried out by vol- unteers and relatives, because funding structures are under study by his Tory government. He made the comments after half a dozen children and a couple of workers from Utica Daycare showed up at his Bowmanville constituency office last Thursday morning, the day before the Progressive Conservatives released an economic statement outlining heavy cuts to social and other government spending. "I don't dispute the need for daycare at all," said Mr. O'Toole, elected here in the June 8 election. He said, however, that as the government continues to consider spending cuts to bring Ontario out of what the Tories have called an economic crisis, a return to traditional methods of child care may be necessary. "I think quality daycare is maternal day- care -- parental daycare," he said. "I'm a big believer in family. "The parents are going to have to become a lot more involved in the care of their children." He added that existing daycare centres may have to consider a number of alterna- tives to reduce operating costs, such as reducing the number of caregivers and their qualifications, raising fees, and incorporating volunteers. Fears over the future of a couple of gov- ernment programs sparked the protest by Utica Daycare. They were upset over rumors of elimination of the jobsOntario program, which provides 14,000 daycare spaces for working parents across the pro- vince, and cuts to wage subsidies for early childhood educators (ECEs) who provide care at the centres. Roxanna Gumiela, supervisor at Utica , said the subsidies are the primary issue for the local centre. Workers there depend on the government money to top up sala- ries; daycare workers in Durham Region make, on average, between $20,000 and $24,000 a year. It's been reported the provincial cabinet has deferred cuts to the subsidies for now, but Utica workers want Mr. O'Toole to relay the message that the subsidies will continue to be necessary for centres here to operate. - "If the wage subsidy is cut, it will mean a reduction in staff; it will reduce our income by $8,000 a person," she said, adding that another possibility is higher fees for parents, many of whom are stretching their budgets for daycare now. "This is something we really have to have. Our daycare is really going to suffer." The children from the centre sang a song for the MPP, and gave him a bright poster that's ringed by handprints of the kids. "Your future rest in our hands. Quality child care is common sense," the poster declares. Mr. O'Toole vowed to take the message to Queen's Park. He added, though, that as the Tories continue with their cost-cutting agenda, everyone in the province will be facing sacrifices. The job of the government is to make those cuts equitable, he said. "If the cuts are fair, reasonable and equi- table, I think everyone is willing to should- er their fair share," he said. DJ TAYLOR INSURANCE BROKERS LTD. 169 North St., Port Perry L9L 1B7 Guaranteed Investment Certificates G.I1.C. FIVE YEAR . py iy ALY i) WAS * Before & After School Care N Pebble & the Penguin Caring for Children~ 15 months 0 9 years y Utica DayCare - for - Toddlers & Pre-Schoolers port goiste! * Flexible to your needs RIVE (busing lpsom & ort Perry) * [Home-Cooked Meals * Piano | essons * I'rench Language Circles UTICA DAYCARE... your child's home away from home L905) 985-8783 ) DR. J. COTTRELL DR. C. BANFIELD ~~ DR. T. KING fotrodonses DR. J. HARDY 085-8451 3 DR. L. GIDEON \ 985-7952 re New Patients Always Welcome - Please Call 238 QUEEN ST. - PORT PERRY Robert J. 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