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Social Development Minister Ken Dryden has hired a top- notch expert on child care as his chief of staff as he begins laying the groundwork to act on the Liberal election pledge to pump $5 billion into a universal child-care plan over five years.
Though concerned about the depth of the government's commitment, child-care proponents say they are cheered by the hiring of Sandra Griffin, a leading child-care practitioner and children's rights activist, as a savvy move by the novice cabinet minister because she is so well-versed on the issue.
"The fact he wanted her as his chief of staff means he's serious about doing this," says Barbara Coyle, who succeeded Griffin as executive director of the Canadian Child Care Federation.
Griffin, who has a graduate degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of Victoria, has spent more than three decades in the field of early childhood care and education.
Judith Maxwell, a president of Canadian Policy Research Networks, says snagging Griffin is a coup for Dryden. "She knows absolutely everyone in the business," she said.
- reprinted from the Edmonton Journal