Smart Solutions for BC Families » Affordability
Child care costs more than post-secondary education — for some families, more than a monthly mortgage payment. That’s because parents pay about 80% of the cost — a far greater percentage than in other countries. And yet child care workers’ wages often fall below the poverty line.
From 2001 to 2006, average annual child care fees for pre-school aged children in BC went up by $672. For school-aged care, the increase was more than $800. In the City of Vancouver, child care fees often top $1000 per month for infants and toddlers.*
But it doesn't have to be this way. With a publicly funded child care system, parent fees could be a fraction of what they are now, and child care workers could earn a living wage. Libraries, schools and roads are built and maintained with public funds through the tax system, because we know that everyone should have access to these services. And the people who work in our libraries, schools, and on our roads are paid a living wage. Why should child care be any different?
BC has the ability to build a child care system that works for children, families and communities.
» Help us tell our leaders that public investment in child care is a smart solution for BC families.
* Provincial fee increases: see ECEC in Canada, 2001 and 2006.
Vancouver fees: see 2007 fee surveys.
Resources
» A universal child care system is affordable
Fact sheet from the Child Care – Let’s Make it Happen! Campaign, 2008
» what a publicly funded child care system in BC could look like
A Costing and Accountability Model for a BC Child Care System
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, 2007
» what child care providers say
ECE Staffing Survey
First Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition, 2007
Read more:
Publications released by the Advocacy Forum
2001-2008
Alternative Federal Budget 2008
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Spending on ELCC programs:
How does Canada compare?
Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (using OECD data, 2006)
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