Decter Hirst pushes for daycare registry
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2010 (5480 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Brandon City Hall needs to see child care as more than just a provincial responsibility, says mayoral candidate Shari Decter Hirst.
In laying down another of her campaign platform planks on making Brandon an age-friendly city, Decter Hirst suggested the creation of a comprehensive daycare registry that would provide an entire picture for families searching for highly coveted child care spots.
"If we had a list of where licensed and unlicensed spots are in the city that you passed out to real estate agents, for example, because that’s one of the first questions for a family coming into town, ‘Where will I be able to find daycare?’," she said following a brief chat with parents at Kokum’s Little Friends Daycare yesterday afternoon.
"Recognizing how critical daycare is to economic development, how do we deal with that issue?"
Brandon could also be a more family-friendly employer in small, tangible ways that do not threaten the integrity of any collective agreements, Decter Hirst suggested.
"A child-friendly environment can be so much more than bargained benefits, (like) having the flexibility to bring a child to work when you’re caught off-guard without emergency daycare. We can’t expect the community to be child-friendly if, as an employer, the city isn’t child-friendly."
A strengthened partnership with the Brandon School Division could expand before- and after-school programs to better suit the needs of the city’s families, she added.
Decter Hirst wraps up her age-friendly-city-themed campaign announcements today with a 4 p.m. appearance at Parthenon Pizza, where she will be talking about appealing to Brandon’s "young and restless" community.
"We have more than 5,000 students enrolled at Assiniboine Community College and Brandon University and when they graduate, by and large, they leave town," she said. "How do we keep them here? It’s much better to be someone retiring to a college town than it is to be a student living in a retirement community."
Brandon’s municipal election is set for Wednesday, Oct.27.