‘That just seems predatory’: Vancouver family spends $3K on daycare waitlists

A Vancouver family with four-year-old twins has already shelled out thousands in childcare costs – and the kids haven’t even started daycare yet.

A Vancouver family with four-year-old twins has already shelled out thousands in childcare costs – and the kids haven’t even started daycare yet.

Rory Richards’ third child is just days away from being born. As the family prepares for the baby’s arrival, there is one thing on their list that hasn’t been done -- finding childcare for their other two children.

“This just exacerbated the situation, but our plight for childcare has pretty much been going on for several years,” Richards told CTV News Vancouver.

The family lives in downtown Vancouver but has made dozens of inquiries to daycares all over the region.

But the options have not been affordable. They’ve been quoted $4,800 a month for the twins.

They also say they’ve spent close to $3,000 in fees just to have the twins put on waitlists.

“To charge parents $150 to $250 to $300 to get on a waiting list, to review an application – and in the case of a parent that has twins, charging that twice -- that just seems predatory to me,” she said.