Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. boosts childcare funding for preschool and school-aged kids

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Sep, 2023 10:02 AM
  • B.C. boosts childcare funding for preschool and school-aged kids

The British Columbia government is expanding measures to lower the cost of child care by introducing fee reductions for preschool and school-aged children.

Premier David Eby says families with children in eligible half-day preschool, as well as before- and after-school programs, could save an additional $145 per month, per child, as the program gets underway in September.

A joint statement from Eby's office and the Ministry of Education and Child Care says the province is providing the funding directly to participating childcare centres so families do not need to apply to see the savings.

It says the latest measure is in addition to savings of as much as $900 per month, per child, which families with kids who are kindergarten-aged or younger have been receiving since last December with support from the B.C. and federal governments.

Eby was in Richmond, B.C., to make the announcement, where he told the press conference that 43,000 kids and their families could benefit from new funding.

Grace Lore, minister of state for child care, says more than 95 per cent of licensed providers are participating in the government's affordability programs.

Access to affordable child care is one of the reasons why B.C.'s unemployment rate is among the lowest in Canada, she told media Thursday, saying three-quarters of the province's job growth last year was driven by women's employment.

Lore adds that having child care on school grounds "just makes sense" for families and children and B.C. is prioritizing those options as it builds and replaces schools.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Let's make a deal, Canada urges U.S. amid latest 'baseless' softwood lumber duties

Let's make a deal, Canada urges U.S. amid latest 'baseless' softwood lumber duties
International Trade Minister Mary Ng is making the overture after a fresh U.S. Commerce Department review maintained duties on softwood imports from Canada. Ng says the duties, while modestly lower, remain an unfair, baseless and punitive measure that hurts the economy on both sides of the border. 

Let's make a deal, Canada urges U.S. amid latest 'baseless' softwood lumber duties

B.C. police share photos of vehicles possibly being used in alleged abduction of kids

B.C. police share photos of vehicles possibly being used in alleged abduction of kids
Mounties in Surrey say they continue to investigate leads and tips in their search for eight-year-old Aurora Bolton and her 10-year-old brother Joshuah, who were allegedly abducted by their mother Verity Bolton earlier this month. 

B.C. police share photos of vehicles possibly being used in alleged abduction of kids

B.C. RCMP arrest Surrey massage therapist on multiple sex assaults

B.C. RCMP arrest Surrey massage therapist on multiple sex assaults
A massage therapist is facing multiple sexual assault charges for what police in Surrey, B.C., say are allegations that span a 16-year period. RCMP say they first received a report in November 2021 about alleged sexual assaults occurring in 2016 and 2017 involving massage therapist Leonard Krekic.  

B.C. RCMP arrest Surrey massage therapist on multiple sex assaults

Williams Lake Mountie charged three years after car crash with suspect

Williams Lake Mountie charged three years after car crash with suspect
The prosecution service says the Mountie faces charges of assault with a weapon, assault causing bodily harm, criminal negligence and dangerous driving. Prosecutors say the charges against Const. Madeline Hjelden stem from an on-duty motor vehicle incident in Williams Lake, B.C., that occurred in May 2020. 

Williams Lake Mountie charged three years after car crash with suspect

Assault with a weapon in Newton, One in hospital

Assault with a weapon in Newton, One in hospital
On Thursday, at 10:07 a.m., Surrey RCMP responded to the report of an assault with a weapon in the 12900-block of 68 Avenue. Upon arrival police located a 20-year-old man suffering from apparent stab wounds.

Assault with a weapon in Newton, One in hospital

B.C. judge allows cannabis 'fire sale' to stave off CRA destruction threat

B.C. judge allows cannabis 'fire sale' to stave off CRA destruction threat
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has approved the bulk sale of more than 1,200 kilograms of cannabis by a company after the Canada Revenue Agency threatened to destroy it.  The agency had earlier declined to renew the company's excise tax licence due to financial difficulties.

B.C. judge allows cannabis 'fire sale' to stave off CRA destruction threat