Province working on pay increases for child-care workers as subsidies for families kick in
The minister responsible for child care in B.C. reaffirmed that the province is looking at ways to increase wages for early childhood educators, as child-care subsidies kick in.
Additional savings for parents came into effect on Dec. 1, providing some with up to an additional $550 per month, per child.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Richmond Friday to promote the subsidies at a joint news conference with Premier David Eby.
“We hear you when you say it’s getting harder to pay the bills due to inflation,” Trudeau said. “We’re continuing to make child care more affordable across the country, including and starting here in B.C.”
The savings are being welcomed by parents and families, but leading to some concerns about staffing.
Meagan Brame, who owns Saxe Point Daycare in Esquimalt, said it’s “brutal” trying to find staff.
“It’s still hard to get people to realize that this is an amazing field to be in,” Brame said. “It’s not always a job that’s been valued over the years.”
With the wage top-ups offered by the province, the average wage for an early childhood educator is currently $25 to $26 per hour, up from $17 to $18 per hour in 2017, according to Katrina Chen, B.C.'s Minister of State for Child Care.
Chen reaffirmed on Friday that the province is working on pay increases.
“We are looking at a wage grid program that will ensure a minimum wage floor and go up from there, and we will have more news from there once that strategy is developed,” she said.
Chen said the province has approved “about 10,500” spaces for $10-a-day child care, with an aim to reach 12,500 by the end of the year. That’s up from around 6,500 in September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.