JOINT
COMMITTEE ON DAY CARE
Well, I have before me the completed Joint Committee on Day Care Report, dated April 29th, 2005. Darlene Brodeur, Anne Mercer-Hall, Heather Ongo and I began meeting in September in response to Letter of Understanding # 5 (Day Care) in the 11th Collective Agreement and continued to meet until late April. Our job, to quote the report, “included a discussion of the benefits of day care and general issues related to the establishment of a day care.”
The initial meetings, while we were getting oriented, did not inspire a lot of hope, and I felt this would be little more than a futile, but not unpleasant, exercise. However after setting aside a tendency to concentrate on apparent roadblocks, both sides embraced a more fruitful investigation into the concrete possibilities of establishing a day care at Acadia. This shared attitude perhaps resulted from the fact that even a cursory look at the situation at other Canadian universities revealed just how much Acadia needs to catch up. University day cares are not only an ethical obligation but also good business sense, encouraging recruitment and retainment of faculty, students, and staff.
I was really impressed and a bit humbled by the other members of the committee on both sides, everyone’s genuine willingness, capacity, and even enthusiasm for researching beyond what was required, an enthusiasm and ability which I think brought together a convincing document vividly underlining the need for immediate action.
Lance LaRocque