Feds and province announce $10/day child care program

Within the next five years, Trudeau says $10 per day child care will be a reality in all areas of the province. By the end of next year, child care fees will be cut in half.

The governments aim to create 42,500 new child care and early learning spaces in Alberta by the end of March 2026, and as well as 250,000 country-wide.

Premier Jason Kenney says this deal is one that is good for all Albertans.

“The province has secured a deal that allows Alberta parents to have the type of child care that works best for them, which has been a key element of any deal that this government would sign. This means that all types of licensed child care for kids aged, up to kindergarten, like pre-schools, day care, and licensed family day homes, will now be supported through this deal with the federal government.”

Funding will be available for those with specific needs such as linguistic, cultural, and special learning supports.

As part of the program, the prime minister says the wage grid will be updated “so that early childhood educators get the kind of training, support, and wages they need to contribute in such an important way.”

The advocacy group, Public Interest Alberta, heralded the joint announcement, with Executive Director Bradley Lafortune calling it a “game-changer.”

“Far too many women have had to make the difficult decision to leave the workforce because of sky-high child care costs, and COVID has only deepened the ‘she-cession’. If we want to build back better coming out of the pandemic, then we need a recovery that puts women first. And this framework agreement begins to set the stage for that kind of recovery.”

“Albertans who continued to speak up on the importance of quality and affordable child care should be taking a victory lap today,” said Rakhi Pancholi, Alberta NDP Critic for Children’s Services. “I’ve heard from thousands of Alberta parents in the last month alone saying they needed $10/day child care.

“They are the reason we saw this deal signed today.”

Meantime, officials with Embolden Private Dayhome Community, note there are still thousands of Alberta families unable to access regulated care, meaning thousands of Alberta parents will continue to rely on unlicensed child care arrangements to meet their child care needs.

“These unregulated arrangements, whether they be with family, friends, nannies, or private dayhome providers, come together to meet the demand for child care in the province in a practical way,” reads a statement from the organization. “However, with a lack of visibility and few minimum standards in place to ensure quality and safety within the unlicensed sector, these arrangements are often undervalued and lack formal support for providers and parents.”

“It is time that the Government of Alberta acknowledged the continued prevalence of unregulated child care within the province so that we can begin to work together to ensure that all children have access to safe and affordable child care – no matter the circumstances in which they receive that care” said Danielle Bourdin, Executive Director of Embolden PDC.

“The newly signed Alberta Child Care Agreement is a great step in the direction of affordable, accessible, and quality child care for all. But a truly universal system cannot be obtained without the purposeful inclusion of the independent sector,” the statement concludes.

The Government of Canada has now reached similar agreements with nine provinces and territories, representing approximately 60 per cent of the country’s children.

The federal government estimates that families will save $5,000 per child per year by 2025/26.

(With files from rdnewsNOW)

by David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Feds and province announce $10/day child care program

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