Affordable child-care program providing relief for families amid rising cost of living
CBC
Everything seems to be getting more expensive. Food, gas and housing prices are on the rise while paycheques are slow to keep pace. The CBC News series Priced Out explains why you're paying more at the register and how Canadians are coping with the high cost of everything.
Michelle Peters-Jones has only worked part time for the last nine years. In the face of expensive daycare options in Edmonton, it never made financial sense to work full time and have a bill for five days of child care.
But now, after the new affordable child-care program began in Alberta at the beginning of the year, she's accepted a full-time job. And instead of paying $800 for three days of child care, she's now paying $500 for five days.
"It's not just about the money for me, honestly, it's about following dreams, restarting my career," she said.
"We'll definitely be spending money on improving our house, for example, paying down our mortgage, [and] making sure the kids have more activities to choose from, which we couldn't actually afford on our budget."
The cost of living is rising across the country, although for many parents with young kids, the new program is providing major financial relief.
The federal government launched the $30 billion program last year and signed agreements with most provinces and territories. The goal is to drive down the cost of child care to just $10 a day, per child, nationwide.
Of all the provinces and territories, only Ontario has yet to negotiate a deal with the federal government. It's a sizeable omission considering the province's population. In January, Premier Doug Ford said a deal was very close, but last month his education minister Stephen Lecce said it may take some time before an agreement is reached.
"It's a huge game-changer. This is something we've been looking forward to for a long time," said Cheryl Crowther, assistant director with Child Development Dayhomes in Calgary.
The agency manages 170 dayhomes caring for 700 children in the Calgary area. Staff are regularly working 13-hour days since the beginning of January because of all the administrative work involved with the new program, she said.
Still, despite the extra workload so far, Crowther said she knows there is an opportunity to expand the business.
"There's been a huge influx of calls both from families as well as dayhome providers that want to become licensed. So, we've had to create wait-lists because we can't keep up," she said.
WATCH | New child-care program a lifeline for working parents:
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