See text below.
EXCERPTS
An investment firm that owns a chain of for-profit day care centres in the U.S. wants to expand into Canada now that the federal government has committed $5 billion for a national child care program.
Al Perkins, chief executive officer of North Carolina-based Blackstocks Development Corp., says his company is interested in acquiring day cares in Canada or opening new ones as part of a broader international expansion plan.
Through subsidiaries Kids Connection Corp. and Tiny Tots, Inc., Blackstocks already operates day cares in Charlotte, Philadelphia and St. Louis, and plans to open new branches at a rate of 83 per year.
The publicly traded company announced plans for a Canadian expansion in documents filed with U.S. securities regulators in November. Perkins says he's now encouraged by the possibility of participating in the new national program promised by the federal government.
So far, the federal government has left the door open to a mix of not-for-profit and for-profit spaces. Social Development Minister Ken Dryden is expected to leave decisions about for-profit providers to the provinces and territories.
NDP MP Tony Martin said the arrival of major corporations in the Canadian market signals the beginning of what he calls the "Wal-Martization" of the child care system.
Perkins says the centres his company operates emphasize education.
"We're strong on the three Rs, computer skills, second language and math skills," he said. "That's our niche."
- reprinted from CanWest News Service