EXCERPTED
The reopening of child care in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges and concerns for educators, families, parents, and child care allies. The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care hear these concerns and are working to advocate for the safe and effective reopening of child care in Ontario, while considering the needs of children, parents, families, and educators.
Recently we spoke with over 1,000 parents and educators, to build cooperation between these two groups of natural allies. We trained hundreds of ECEs and parents to meet their MPPs, to share their experiences, and use their power to directly influence change-makers. We know this strategy is effective - as we saw with our campaign to save the Wage Enhancement Grant, your stories moved politicians to action. Lastly we rallied in the thousands, virtually and in-person, raising our collective voice so that the needs of educators, children, and families are amplified as the Province moves to reopen child care.
There is still more to be done, and we need to continue to work together, our collective voice is louder with you - we are stronger together. While we work to give a voice to the collective sector, individual voices bring strength to our work and our community. With that in mind we are asking that you take 3 steps to positively influence change that will support the safety and well-being of children, families, and educators from reopening to recovery.
Step 1: Use your social media presence to advocate for child care.
Step 2: To make informed decisions about child care, MPPs need to hear from you.
Step 3: Meeting with and contacting your MPP is one of the most effective advocacy tactics available, particularly if your meeting is part of a wider grassroots campaign, like ours, taking place across the province.