The federal government has reached a deal with British Columbia on federal child-care funding in a move that longtime advocates marked as "very good news" for families and the economy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday the agreement stipulates Ottawa will work with the province to reach an average of $10-per-day child care in regulated spaces for children under six years old before 2027.
Across the country, too many families lack access to affordable and high-quality childcare. That needs to change - and today, we’re announcing a historic agreement with British Columbia to make that a reality. Tune in now for the details: https://t.co/vNMloTTolN
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) July 8, 2021
The deal aims to create 30,000 new spaces in B.C. in the next five years, with fees for regulated spaces cut in half by the end of 2022.
"If you're a parent, this landmark agreement led by the government of British Columbia and the federal government means that help is on the way," Trudeau told a news conference in Coquitlam, B.C.
British Columbia is the first province to sign on to the Liberal offer laid out in the April budget, which pledged $27.2 billion over five years, starting this fiscal year, in new spending that the government aims to send to provinces to subsidize daycares.
The specific strings attached to the pledge will dictate what forms of child care could be eligible for federal funding, and how much parental fees must drop over the next five years.
The pandemic has laid bare that without good child care it is practically impossible for parents, especially mothers, to build a career, Trudeau said.
"Hard-working families deserve better and our economy deserves better as well," he said. "This is exactly what a feminist recovery looks like."
The federal NDP says Liberals have been promising child care since 1993 without following through, and that signs of getting ready for a likely election undermines the government's stated priority of helping parents.
Trudeau began his day behind closed doors in Metro Vancouver discussing B.C.'s wildfires and recent punishing heat wave with members of his cabinet's Incident Response Group.
He was to spend much of the rest of the day in Coquitlam and meet with B.C. Premier John Horgan, who joined him there for the child-care announcement.
The NDP government in B.C. began a $10-a-day daycare pilot program after being elected in 2017 and pledged during last fall's election campaign to expand the program provincewide.
Horgan said the province had heard calls for affordable child care not only from advocates and parents, but also from business councils and chambers of commerce.
"They recognize of course because our society is made up of families, that if we’re going to have full participation (in the economy) as we come out of the pandemic, we need everybody in place," Horgan said.
We're just three years in to our 10-year plan to make child care more affordable and accessible, and it's already been life-changing for families.
— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) July 8, 2021
✅ Saving parents up to $1,600/mo
✅ Funding 26,000 new spaces
✅ Giving early childhood educators a well-deserved raise
Lynell Anderson, a child-care researcher and analyst, said economists widely agree that affordable child-care systems pay for themselves in the near term and offer long-term benefits.
"I've been involved as a researcher and advocate for several decades now and I felt that today was a historic day," she said.
Families that have participated in B.C.'s pilot program have described it as "life changing," she said.
As more details are released, Anderson said she will be watching for it to include fair compensation for early childhood educators and for expansions of child-care spaces to take place in non-profit and public spaces such as schools and hospitals, rather than for-profits that she said on average charge 20 to 60 per cent higher fees.
Sharon Gregson, who works with Anderson at the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, said cutting average child-care prices in half by the end of next year would be significant.
Rates vary depending on where you live, but it's not uncommon to pay $1,200 a month in B.C. for toddler care or $800 a month for kids ages three to five, she said. In Vancouver, those fees can surpass $2,000 a month, she said.
This is the first time a federal government has put this much money on the table and it's important that the transition to lower fees occurs quickly, she said.
"This is very good news for child care in B.C.," Gregson said.
After the news conference, Trudeau made a campaign-style stop at White Spot restaurant to pick up lunch and bump elbows with surprised patrons.
Trudeau ordered 17 meals, including two legendary burgers for himself, before touring the restaurant's tables to talk to customers and pose for selfies.
The prime minister also had an afternoon meeting scheduledwith the mayor of Lytton and Indigenous leaders from that Fraser Canyon community to discuss recovery from a wildfire that destroyed the village last week.
He is on a cross-country tour this week, following visits to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and to Alberta and Saskatchewan.
