It is not only on nuclear energy and mobility that opinions differ between ecologists and liberals. This Tuesday, Ecolo and MR opposed the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation on the issue of the accessibility of crèches. In response to a question from MP MR Véronique Durenne, the Minister for Early Childhood Bénédicte Linard (Ecolo) indeed declared that children whose parents work should not be given priority over other children to obtain a place in a host environment. In a context of scarcity, this position aroused strong reactions. “There are not enough places in crèches for everyone and it hurts me to hear Minister Linard say that there is no problem with a place being mobilized five days a week by a person who does not have a job and is not undergoing training. We are not saying that we must oppose parents who work and those who do not work and it is obvious that we should be able to provide places for everyone but in the meantime, it’s a bad signal to send to working parents”believes Diana Nikolic, MR leader in the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
On Twitter, Minister Linard called for “stop opposing people”. “Today, the major problem for children and their parents is the glaring lack of places. I have therefore launched the creation of 5,200 places in Wallonia and Brussels. We will have to continue the effort to catch up with this which was not done under the previous legislature. I am on the side of all parents, whether they are already working or looking for a job”she said. “This is also what my colleague Valérie De Bue (MR) is doing in Wallonia, by developing the offer where there are fewer crèches and where it is necessary to strengthen employment the most.”
