VANCOUVER, BC,
Aug. 8,
2024 /CNW/ - Now more than ever, increased access to
high-quality, affordable, and inclusive child care is crucial to
meet the needs of children and families across Canada. That is why the Government of
Canada is working with provincial,
territorial and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care
system so all families have access to affordable, inclusive and
high-quality child care no matter where they live.
Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and
Physical Activity and Member of Parliament for Delta, on behalf of
the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and
Social Development, joined the Honourable Mitzi Dean, Minister of
State for Child Care for British
Columbia to announce the creation of almost 600 new licensed
child care spots in British
Columbia. The new spots will be located in: Esk'etemc First
Nation, Homalco First Nation, G̱aw Tlagée, Kelowna, Langford, Metchosin, Peachland, Pemberton and West
Vancouver.
Over $74.6 million was provided to
First Nations, local governments, schools and non-profit groups to
create these new child care spots. These new spots were made
possible through:
-
- the ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund, which is jointly
supported by provincial investments and federal funding under the
2021–2022 to 2025–2026 Canada-British
Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care
Agreement; and
- the new $625 million Early
Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund, which is providing
British Columbia with $69.9 million over four years, with $47.3 million for the first three years, to help
build more inclusive child care spots across the province. In
2024—2025, these new spots in British
Columbia will support communities in rural and remote
regions, increase access to Indigenous-led child care and increase
access to Francophone spots for official language minority
communities.
Since 2018, ChildCareBC accelerated space creation programs have
helped fund the creation of more than 39,000 new licensed child
care spots in British Columbia. Of
these, over 11,600 are jointly supported through provincial
investments and federal investments provided through the 2021–2022
to 2025–2026 Canada-British Columbia Canada-wide Early Learning
and Child Care Agreement.
Across the country, over 750,000 kids are already benefiting
from affordable, high-quality child care, with some families in
Canada saving up to $14,300 per child per year. Alongside provinces
and territories, the Government of Canada has also announced over 100,000 new
spots, well on the way to reaching the goal of creating 250,000 new
spots by March 2026.
Building a Canada-wide early
learning and child care system that works for families in every
region of the country is a key part of the Government of
Canada's plan to make life more
affordable for families, while supporting a strong workforce and
growing the economy.
Quotes
"These new spots will make a significant difference for families
in British Columbia, providing
them with the flexibility and support they need while ensuring
children have the best possible start in life. We will keep working
hard to create more spots to get kids off wait lists and into
high-quality, affordable child care in their communities."
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and
Social Development
"We've cut child care fees in half, but we also need more
spaces. Working with our provincial partners, we're creating 30,000
new spaces across B.C., including in rural and Indigenous
communities. Today's announcement is one step towards a brighter
future for B.C. families."
– Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Physical
Activity and Member of Parliament for Delta
"Thanks to our government's ChildCareBC plan, hundreds more
families will be able to access the child care they need, close to
home. We know that having access to secure child care spaces
supports families and strengthens communities. Through these
investments, more families will be able to pursue opportunities and
will provide children with great early learning opportunities."
– The Honourable Mitzi Dean, British
Columbia's Minister of State for Child Care.
Quick facts
- As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made a transformative investment of up
to $30 billion over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and child care
system with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners.
- Combined with investments since 2016, including investments in
Indigenous early learning and child care, the federal government
has announced investments of nearly $40
billion in early learning and child care.
- As part of the Canada-wide
early learning and child care system, the Government of
Canada is working with provinces
and territories to create 250,000 new child care spaces across the
country by March 2026 to increase
access to affordable child care options for families, no matter
where they live.
- To support this goal, the federal government previously
announced the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure
Fund. The Fund provides an additional $625 million to
provinces and territories to support infrastructure projects for
not-for-profit child care spaces in underserved communities, such
as rural and remote regions, high-cost and low-income urban
neighbourhoods, and communities that face barriers to access,
including racialized groups, Indigenous Peoples, official language
minority communities and newcomers, as well as parents, caregivers
and children with disabilities.
- To further accelerate progress, Budget 2024 announced a new
$1-billion Child Care Expansion Loan
Program, to help public and not-for-profit child care providers to
build more child care spaces and renovate their existing child care
centres.
Associated links
Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning
and Child Care
Canada-British Columbia
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to
2026
ChildCareBC New Spaces Fund
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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada