B.C. child care to cost $10-a-day on average in 5 years, leaders promise
A new agreement between the federal government and B.C. will see child-care fees in the province averaging at $10-a-day for children under six in the next five years, the prime minister announced Thursday.
Through a nation-wide program and "historic investments," average fees at regulated spaces will also be cut in half by the end of next year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
That will come through a five-year investment of $3.2 billion.
As well, 30,000 new government-regulated spaces for children under six will be opened in the next five years, Trudeau said from Coquitlam. In the following two years, another 10,000 spaces will open.
Premier John Horgan was also at the announcement and said B.C. needed the federal government's support to reach its goal of reducing the cost of child care.
"We could not get to where we're going … without the full participation of the federal government," Horgan said.
"I cannot wait to cash the cheque, prime minster."
In their announcement, Trudeau and Horgan said the COVID-19 pandemic further shed light on how crucial child care is.
"We talked about child care during the pandemic," Horgan said. "The child care workforce was the workforce behind the workforce … if we did not have child care spaces open and available, our communities would not function."
Trudeau's visit to the West Coast comes amid speculation of a possible call for a federal election.
The prime minister will have multiple other meetings Thursday, including another with the premier and a meeting with the mayor of Lytton, which was recently destroyed in a fire.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.