Vancouver_Magazine_May_2017

VANMAG.COM MAY 2017 87

The plan follows Quebec’s $7-a-day

child care strategy, which has been

in place since the 1990s and has

been credited with huge economic

benefits. A 2008 University of

Toronto study found that the

program allowed 70,000 mothers

to participate in the workforce that

year, resulting in a $5-billion boost

to the province’s GDP—more than

double the cost of the subsidy.

B.C.’s plan would likely see a similar

return. A study published by the

Early Childhood Educators of BC

found the program would initially

cost $1.2 billion per year—growing

to $1.9 billion annually over time—

but would pay for itself in under

three years. The resulting boost to

B.C.’s workforce would yield a two-

percent increase to the province’s

GDP, or roughly $5.8 billion

annually, by 2025.

The $10 Dream

Both the City of Vancouver and the

BC NDP have advocated for a

$10-a-day child care plan put together

by the Coalition of Child Care

Advocates of BC. The plan seeks to

establish a regulated, province-wide

child care framework that includes:

Q$10-a-day full-time care and

$7-a-day part-time care; families

earning less than $40,000 annually

would pay no fees

QBefore- and after-school care

QExtending parental leave to 18

months, up from 12

QRaising wages for child care

workers to an average of $25 an

hour and increasing educational

requirements for child care workers

QCreating a provincial early learning

and care division, which would

operate under the Ministry

of Education

Source: “A Growing Concern,” Canadian Centre

for Policy Alternatives, December 2016

Child Care Costs

Across Canada

Median monthly fee for a toddler, as of 2016

Vancouver $1,325

Edmonton $835

Toronto $1, 375

Montreal $164

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