FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BC Budget 2017 does nothing to solve the chaos that BC families face every day as they try to find and afford child care. There is a concrete solution – the $10aDay Child Care Plan – which is supported by communities, school boards, businesses and individuals across the province.

The cost of the $10aDay Plan will be phased-in over time, only reaching the total additional cost of $1.5 billion a year when it is fully implemented in 7 to 10 years. BC Budget 2017 makes it clear there are various options for funding the up-front costs required to kick-start the Plan –including projected surpluses.

In return, $10aDay Child Care will:

1. Pay for itself, in the near term – generating sufficient government revenues to cover additional government costs to build and operate a new child care system.¹

2. Create 69,000 new jobs – increasing access to affordable child care supports more mothers to stay in the workforce, with employment impacts throughout the economy.¹

3. Add $5.8 billion to BC’s GDP – more than 3 times the additional cost to government.¹

4. Provide higher returns than other government spending – child care economic multipliers for GDP are among the largest of any sector.¹

5. Make BC affordable for families with young children – 81% of BC parents who use child care say that the cost puts a financial strain on their family.²

6. Support employers – projected to save BC employers almost $1 billion annually through increased productivity, including lower turnover and absenteeism.¹

7. Help families leave social assistance – with particularly significant benefits for single mothers, reducing poverty and inequality.¹

8. Put new federal child care funds to good use – projected benefits are shared between BC and federal governments, so cost-sharing makes sense.¹

9. Spread jobs and benefits across the entire province – addressing widespread concerns that the lack of child care in smaller communities “means that people are turning away local jobs and not moving here, or they are having to leave the area, which is an economic barrier for business and services.”³

10. Keep orcas safe – child care is part of a green economy. It’s local, people-powered and environmentally friendly.

--- 30 ---

Click here to download a PDF version of this press release

Contact Sharon Gregson 604-505-5725 [email protected] or Lynell Anderson 604-313-6904

¹Socio-Economic Impact Analysis of the $10aDay Child Care Plan for British Columbia, 2017

²Insights West Poll, 2015

³Cranbrook City Council, in its motion to support the Plan, 2013