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"A Family Tradition for 128 Years" Local daycare centres fearful of funding cuts By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star Daycare centres in Scu- gog Joined together this past Friday (Nov. 24) to protest anticipated pro- vincial funding cuts. One daycare centre closed, while others took steps to inform parents about the possible effects of funding restraints, ex- pected to be announced by finance minister Ernie Eves in tomorrow's pro- vincial financial state- ment. Daycare providers here and across the province fear for the continued via- bility of their industry if subsidies to parents are cut, and if further meas- ures include eliminating wage subsidies for Early Childhood Education workers. While Communi- ty and Social Services Minister David Tsubouchi said last week the wage ubsidies will not be tar- geted for now, there is widespread speculation that parental subsidies will be hit, and maybe even replaced by a new system, in tomorrow's mini-budget. Such measures could mean the end of daycare as it is known in Ontario, said Janet Jakobsen, a di- rector of Schoolhouse Playcare Centres, a Dur- ham Region organization whose centre at S.A. Caw- ker P.S. in Port Perry closed its doors in protest Friday. She sees a worst-case scenario of ECE worker lay-offs, and even daycare centre closures if funding cuts are deep. "That's definitely a pos- sibility out there in the short term, or long term. who knows?" she said. Mrs. Jakobsen said par- ents at Schoolhouse Play- care's 15 centres across the region were in support of Friday's closure -- hun- dreds of centres in Ontario closed for the day -- are in support of the measure, particularly after it's ex- plained to them that their child care could be in jeop- ardy. "We're having over- whelming support, or we would not have done this," she said Friday. "It 1s a very, very strongconcern." Two other centres in Scugog -- Stonemoor 1n Port Perry and Utica Day- Certificates care -- did not close for the day Friday, but made sure parents are aware of the concerns expressed by those in the industry. At Stonemoor, a sign was posted and parents were urged to contact pro- vincial officials to state their opposition to daycare cuts, said supervisor Dianne 'Burke. She said many parents of the more than 60 kids at the centre have not been aware of the possible cuts, but are alarmed when given infor- mation. Cuts to subsidies for daycare spaces would have a great impact at Stonemoor, said Mrs. Burke. We do have quite a num- ber of children who are subsidized," she said. "we have working parents on subsidy who won't qualify for that. "For some parents, it hasn't sunk in; other par- ents are really concerned." She said many are won- dering just what they'll do if professional daycare is no longer an alternative for them; while Ontario Premier Mike Harris and Durham East MPP John O'Toole have declared their support for more community involvement in the care of pre-school- aged children -- they say relatives and neighbors should be called upon to ¢are for kids -- that's not a viable option for many people here, said Mrs. Burke. "A lot of these parents have just moved to the area; they don't have grandma to babysit," she said. At Utica Daycare, Fri- day was observed as a day of mourning, and action. Parents were asked to let the province know their feelings on continued day- care funding, and were given black armbands to wear. And at 11 in the morning, kids and daycare workers observed a min- ute of silence for the pass- ing of quality daycare, said supervisor Roxanna Gumiela. She added that constant speculation about funding cuts are tough on staft at the small centre. 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