Thank you very much for the opportunity to present to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance as you deliberate on your budget for 2009.
Success By 6 is a community partnership whose mandate is to see that all Edmonton children from zero to six have the supports they need to ensure a lifetime of healthy growth and development. Success By 6 works under the direction of a council of partners, which engages a broad range of stakeholders to direct the work of Success By 6.
These stakeholders include representatives from a variety of institutions and include parents, service providers, and the health, education, and social services sectors, and we have representatives who provide funding in our community. The commonality of all of the people who sit on our council of partners is the interest of supporting all children to have what they need to have the best possible start.
We work to educate people on the importance of early childhood development in our lives and their ongoing health and well-being. We engage stakeholders as much as possible in being a part of creating an optimal environment for child development.
We know that children grow up in families, that families work in communities, and that the outcomes within those communities can be shaped with our investment, with your investment, of Canada's dollars.
We thank you for the opportunity to bring forward some recommendations on the difficult investment decisions that you're going to have to make with the limited resources that Canada has.