More gangster politics/backroom dealing from Ford Nation

NOW Magazine // Daily // News // Mammoliti slams door on councillors
Giorgio Mammoliti, acting on behalf of the mayor, barred councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Janet Davis from the recent Child Task Force meeting. The meeting was supposed to be an open meeting. Wong-Tam just wanted to observe, and with good reason - she sits on the Community Development Committee, which delivers childcare.

Ford, during the campaign, said he would put an end to what he called "sweetheart backroom deals". But, since being elected, he has turned around 180 degrees on this issue. Ford's been keeping the majority of council in the dark on many things, and now this.

Ford appointed Mammoliti to the child care task force back in July.
Its goal is to investigate alternative funding models for the child care
spaces the city subsidizes, and many observers believe Mammoliti will
recommend privatization. Wong-Tam and Davis would strongly oppose that
move.

“Whether or not they agree with my politics or I agree with
their politics is not the point,” Wong-Tam said. “The point is we have
to respect our democratic civil institutions and the tools that give us
good government.”

NDP fighting for Childcare

New Democrats reintroduce Early Learning and Childcare Act
April 29, 2009:

OTTAWA – Today, New Democrats took a major step forward for
children and working families through the reintroduction of landmark
legislation designed to build quality childcare for future generations.

New Democrat Childcare Critic Olivia Chow (Trinity—Spadina)
reintroduced The Early Learning and Child Care Act in the House of
Commons today.

“The legislation builds towards the creation of a universal, high
quality, affordable and non profit childcare program in Canada,” says
Chow. “The Canada Health Act helped define Canada as a country, and
after years of empty promises to Canadian parents, an act to enshrine a
national childcare system in Canada is long overdue. Canada simply can’t
do without childcare,” she added.

During the last session the Act was voted on twice, passed the
Standing Committee and was awaiting third reading when the election was
called last fall.

The re-introduction of the New Democrat Early Learning and Childcare
Act comes in the wake of several reports that ranked Canada last of all
industrialized countries in early childhood education and care
investment. A recent Senate report also points out that Canada does not
have a comprehensive national childcare strategy.

Olivia Chow - Supporting families, children and youth

Olivia Chow:

• Introduced – and Parliament voted in favour twice – a historic bill to build a national, high quality, affordable and universally accessible early child hood education and care program for Canadian children.
  
  
• Launched the Children’s Health and Nutrition Initiative to
  provide all children with a healthy breakfast, snack or lunch in schools
  and community centres. The second component of the Initiative calls for innovative ways to
  protect children from manipulative marketing messages that encourage
  poor nutritional habits. The NDP also introduced a private member’s bill
  to ban all commercial advertising directed at children under 13 years
  of age.
  
• Launched a Youth Safety and Crime Prevention Plan which
  focuses on enhancing year-round youth employment programs and building
  strong neighbourhoods.

NDP offers the best childcare plan

TheStar.com - No licensed child care for majority of Canadian kids

An NDP government in Ottawa would elevate child care to the same status as medicare by introducing legislation, similar to the Canada Health Act, that would make federal spending on high-quality, affordable and accessible child care the law of the land, Layton said. The NDP would also keep the Harper "baby bonus" but invest $1.45 billion in the first year of a mandate to create 150,000 new spaces, growing to 220,000 spots annually as federal finances allowed.