Stroller brigade marches on Commercial Drive for $10 a day childcare

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      Parents and their supporters are once again trying to draw attention to affordable childcare.

      The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C. has been pushing for a $10 a day plan.

      Today, the so-called "stroller brigade" was out on Commercial Drive to try to drive that point home again.

      The coalition argues that nonprofit childcare is a public service like education and health care. And therefore, it must be publicly funded and held publicly accountable.

      The coalition's plan calls for $10 a day for full-time childcare and $7 a day for part-time childcare with no user fees on families with annual incomes lower than $40,000.

      It suggests that the additional cost would be $1.5 billion annually for kids under the age of six.

      The coalition argues that the cost of doing nothing is higher on society and the economy. It cites research by UBC professors Paul Kershaw and Lynell Anderson showing that "work-life conflict among employees with preschool age children costs BC businesses in excess of $600 million per year, including turnover, absenteeism, and health care premiums".

      Rita Chudnovsky explains the coalition's $10 per day plan.

      Comments

      8 Comments

      Crazy

      May 9, 2015 at 1:07pm

      You get to write off your daycare fees and you still want more? Meanwhile a parent who chooses to stay home gets nothing in the form of tax benefits.

      FN

      May 9, 2015 at 2:45pm

      Providing middle and high income families with $10 daycare is not a good use of tax dollars, so please drop the demands for universal cheap daycare.
      And why are daycare costs tax deductible? That means that the highest income people pay the lowest after-tax daycare fees. Any government interested in fairness would change it to a tax credit.

      Wrong!!

      May 9, 2015 at 4:34pm

      Childcare paid for by the government (taxpayers) IS NOT A RIGHT!!!!! No one forces anyone to have children. It's blatantly unfair to people who don't have children. When you decide to have children, you decide to take on ALL the costs associated with having children. Taxpayers are already taxed enough!!!!

      Sharon Gregson

      May 10, 2015 at 7:45am

      Same old anti-childcare arguments. Facts are that tax credits do not create quality spaces, tax-write offs at year-end don't help parents each month when childcare costs as much rent or mortgage. Kids who benefit from access to high quality eay childhood education are better ready to be successful in school. Childcare gets parents into the workforce. And actually the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child DOES highlight eRly childhood education.

      Can't agree with this

      May 10, 2015 at 8:40am

      Especially that the proposal is for society to pay MORE than the parents themselves! Not a sound idea IMHO

      grant

      May 10, 2015 at 10:19am

      Always seems the people who can least afford kids produce the most.Then they stick their hand out to the taxpayer.

      Reality Check

      May 10, 2015 at 11:23am

      Quebec's program has been a costly failure, largely a subsidy to middle class families unwilling to make sacrifices in their own spending to accommodate a child. Subsidize low income parents? Sounds good. Subsidize the middle class so they can pay a ridiculous amount for a stroller and shop at Baby Gap? No. Parents have to foot the bill for a very short time before the rest of us pay for an education, defacto daycare that ends when the little darling can be set free.

      Not-a-Mom-by-choice

      May 10, 2015 at 7:50pm

      The new Canadian dream. Have babies that you can't afford, and get other people to pay for it