Good news! Thanks to action by $10aDay supporters the stars are aligned for significant child care change in British Columbia.
The recent provincial election delivered a majority to the party that made the strongest child care commitments. The new NDP government has given the returning Minister of State for Child Care, Katrina Chen, clear expectations in her Mandate Letter. The good news is that her directives are aligned with the $10aDay Plan.
And, it appears that the province will have federal support to deliver the $10aDay Plan in BC. In her recent fiscal update, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the federal government will embark on developing a "Canada-wide early learning and child care system" and that Budget 2021 will provide a plan to “provide affordable, accessible and high-quality child care from ocean to ocean to ocean.”
We have specific recommendations on how BC’s government should begin to implement its commitments to have the greatest benefit for children, families, and educators in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, given it’s now confirmed that child care is moving into the broader learning environment it’s essential that the Minister for Child Care and the Minister of Education collaborate to:
- Bring $10aDay child care to more BC families;
- Deliver school-age child care in schools using classrooms already designed for young learners;
- Implement the provincial ECE wage grid starting at $26 per hour;
- Create more licensed child care programs in publicly owned space.
The negative impacts COVID-19 has had on women’s participation in the work-force make these investments vital for families and BC’s economic and social recovery.
BC absolutely can have a quality affordable system of child care programs where educators earn decent wages – all we need is for governments to deliver on their commitments.
Thanks for your continued support – we must keep up the pressure to ensure change happens!
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