Provincial funding will soon help families with young children, by supporting additional $10-a-day child care spaces and new child care centres.
“Having access to child care is a game-changer for parents, and an economic development for communities” said Brittny Anderson, MLA for Kootenay Central. “Investing in new child care spaces is one more way we’re making it easier to for families to grow and thrive in rural communities.”
In the West Kootenays, 25 spaces at the Castlegar & District Kids’ Club and 26 spaces at Sunshine Children’s Centre in Trail will be converted to the $10 a Day ChildCare BC program.
And in Balfour, 24 brand new spaces will open at Cedar and Stars Early Learning Centre, and 110 new are set to open with the Town of Creston (facility name undetermined) through the New Spaces Fund.
“Affordable and accessible child care is a key ingredient in thriving communities, I know that from my experience as mayor,” said Steve Morissette, MLA for Kootenay-Monashee. “It's amazing to know that more people across the region and the province will be able to access reliable child care for just ten dollars a day.”
Across B.C., families will benefit from 770 new $10-a-day spaces at 22 child care centres. Spaces in the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program reduce the average cost of child care for children ages five and under from $1,115 to only $200 a month for the same service - a month for full-time, centre-based care. This saves families an average of $915 a month per child.
A total of almost $105 million is being invested to create more than 1,000 new licensed child care spaces in regions throughout B.C. through accelerated space creation programs. Once operational, these spaces will be eligible for fee reduction programs through the provincial government, ensuring child care stays affordable for families.
These investments represent further progress in partnership with the federal government. The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement supports the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program and the New Spaces Fund, while additional funding through the federal Child Care Infrastructure Fund supports the creation of new child care spaces.
Since 2018, the provincial and federal governments have invested nearly $8 billion through ChildCareBC to build a future where access to affordable, inclusive, and quality child care is a core service. This has resulted in more than 40,000 new child care spaces funded and more than 16,000 $10-a-day child care spaces throughout B.C.
