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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
There's progress reported in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.