Since the start of Ottawa’s $10-a-day program, Sandra Christian has had many families leave her private child-care centre in B.C. for a spot in a subsidized centre.
But that’s not what worries her — child-care services are in high demand so empty spots get filled quickly.
What worries her and her office manager, Carley Babiarz, is some of these families have said the money they’ve saved on child care has helped them buy a second property.
“We don’t believe that that’s the intention of the [$10-a-day] program,” said Babiarz, who works at the Creative Kids Learning Centers, which has nine locations in Surrey, Langley and Chilliwack, B.C. “It doesn’t best suit our low-income… families.”
Many other child-care workers shared the same opinion at the first national conference for child-care operators, hosted by the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs on Tuesday.
If this is true, everyone should be furious. We’ve been trying to find childcare for our two grandkids for YEARS. Their mother is in healthcare, and if we weren’t able to care for them (at our loss), she wouldn’t be able to work or survive.
Why are daycare services even offered to families who aren’t in desperate need? Those families can afford a babysitter.
Single parent homes, low-income homes, parents who work in an industry in crisis (education, healthcare, etc.) should be at the top of the list for $10 a day childcare.