Help us get a second waive of signatures!

Last week the Minister of Families, Heather Stefanson, announced the Province is moving forward with their plans to end the Enhanced Nursery School Operating Grant as we know it. And continued to make untrue and misleading reasons for why. The statements that Enhanced Nursery Schools offer no tangible differences than regular nursery schools is simply not true. The Enhanced Grant has

• increased access for low income families,
• ensures affordability and access for all,
• creates better access for children with additional support needs,
• provides the ability to recruit and retain higher classifications of educators,
• provides the ability to offer professional development opportunities for their educators 
• increase number of spaces and number of sessions offered,
• add additional programming and supports for children and families - plus much more! 

In simple terms, the Minister’s statements about “creating a new funding model for all nursery schools, that gives fair and equitable funding to all” means reducing the operating grants given to Enhanced Nursery Schools, to increase operating grants for Regular Nursery Schools. And this is unacceptable - ALL nursery schools must be brought up to adequate funding levels. Through investment, not cuts. 

The Province also stated “more information about specific funding changes for enhanced and regular nursery schools, that come into effect in the new year, will be given soon”. BUT - soon means there is still time to tell our elected officials - ANY cuts to child care are not acceptable.

And to do this, I am trying to gain a second waive of support through signatures to this Petition. 

To those who have already signed; thank you. 
To those who haven’t yet signed; I ask you to please join us, and share this Petition on your social media to as many others as you can.

Together we can use our collective voice. We currently have over 5,300 signatures of Manitoba.

We can get louder. 

Thank you,

Laura Burla