Daycare savings kick in for B.C. parents, but pressures on providers remain
While B.C. families are now seeing additional savings on child care due to funding that kicked in Thursday, advocates say a lack of staff and spaces may leave providers unable to meet a surge in demand.
Meagan Brame, who owns Saxe Point Daycare in Esquimalt, says some parents are saving an incredible amount of money, and paying considerably less than they would have a few years ago. For example, she says one family is paying just $30 a month for their child care.
"Between the fee reduction that the government has put in place for Dec. 1, as well as the affordable child care benefit -- they're paying quite a bit less," she explained.
The new federal and provincial program funding means some parents are saving up to an additional $550 per child. The amounts vary based on age and there are no income restrictions.
Chantelle Brunette, a parent in Victoria said the money was welcome, but wondered when the province will deliver on its promise of $10-a-day child care.
"I hope it will happen eventually, but it probably won't be while she's still in daycare," she said, motioning to her daughter.
Minister of State for Child Care Katrina Chen told CTV News about 20,000 families are currently paying that rate – which works out to less than one-sixth of the province's total spaces.
"We started our child-care plan in the 2018 budget, and it's a 10-year plan to bring universal affordable child care to the province," Chen said.
Brame pointed out cost is only one of the concerns in the child-care sector, pointing to a shortage of spaces and a quest to find staff she describes as "brutal."
Advocates are hopeful with child care now part of the education ministry workers will get better pay and benefits, increasing interest in working in the field.
While increasing affordability is a good thing, Brame says it's also increasing demand.
"What we're finding is a lot of parents that would have just done part-time or would have just stayed home for a little bit longer are now taking child care," she notes.
And as more families opt to enroll their kids in daycares, an already strained system could face even more pressure.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
WATCH LIVE | Biden declares in State of Union U.S. is 'unbowed, unbroken'
U.S. President Joe Biden is using his State of the Union address Tuesday night to call on Republicans to work with him to 'finish the job' of rebuilding the economy and uniting the nation as he seeks to overcome pessimism in the country and navigate political divisions in Washington.

Inflation 'turning the corner' after multiple rate increases: BoC governor
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Before and after: How Toronto's MARZ uses AI to make motion picture magic
While much of internet is still buzzing about the wonders of ChatGPT, a Toronto-based technology and visual effects company is making its own splash in Hollywood using artificial intelligence.
'Risky' for Ottawa to take strings-attached approach to health-care negotiations: Jean Charest
As negotiations continue between premiers and the federal government, former Quebec premier Jean Charest is criticizing the feds' string-attached approach to health-care funding, stating that Ottawa should not be in the business of operating health-care systems.
A sensor you draw with a pencil could be used for 'smart diapers,' contactless switches and respiratory monitors
We may soon be able to detect humidity levels, respiratory changes or a too-wet diaper, all with a new type of sensor — one created by drawing with a pencil on specially-treated paper.
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
Texas man jailed in Dallas monkey case says he'd do it again
A 24-year-old man now linked to an unusual string of crimes that kept the Dallas Zoo on the lookout for missing animals told police that after he swiped two monkeys from their enclosure, he took them onto the city's light rail system to make his getaway, court records show.
Balloons and drones among 768 Canadian UFO reports from 2022: researcher
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.