BC government funding more childcare spots but questions linger

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) – News that the province is funding 1,800 new childcare spots across BC may come as a relief to parents struggling to find room for their kids. But, moms and dads struggling to pay for those spots likely won’t be helped.

The BC government is awarding the third phase of over $26 million in funding to create new spots. Operators were asked to apply for the funding in November. This is going to new operators who want to open up daycares and to current operators renovating facilities so they can accept more kids.

Minister of Children and Families Stephanie Cadieux made the announcement at Burnaby’s BCIT campus. The school’s student association daycare is one of the places receiving funding. The $500,000 it is receiving is allowing it to create 37 new spaces for infants, toddlers and kids aged three to five. The province has provided funding to create about 4,300 new spaces across all three phases over the last two years.

One of the basic tenants of economics is that when supply increases to meet demand, cost can come down as businesses compete for customers. This isn’t likely to play out in the childcare sector according to the Coalition of Childcare Advocates of BC. Sharon Gregson with the group says the spots have been spread out across the province, meaning there are too few to make a big difference.

While Gregson welcomes any additional spaces, she says the money would be better spent providing operating grants.

“The cost of operating child care is so labour-intensive because you’re basically just talking about the women who provide the service, and it is primarily women. Without operating grants to fund the operation of the space, just creating more spaces alone doesn’t impact price. Prices go up for families every year as child care gets more expensive to operate.”

She adds many daycare workers already don’t make a living wage. Because most of the costs of running a daycare come from salaries, there’s not room to cut costs there.

Gregson says the coalition is in favour of redirecting a $55-per-month provincial tax break parents get.

“That, across the province, costs us $146-million to give families that $55, so we actually could’ve used that money to do year one of the $10 a day plan and reduce the cost of all infant and toddler childcare to just $10 a day.”

Average cost per month for licensed childcare in Vancouver is between $900 and $1,400, depending on your child’s age.

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