HERE’S TO CHILD CARE
Premier Rachel Notley shares a toast Wednesday with Morgan Stevens, 3, at NorQuest College, where Notley announced the expansion of the province’s $25-a-day child care pilot program to 100 more centres across Alberta.
Premier Rachel Notley on Wednesday trumpeted 100 new childcare centres across Alberta with fees capped at $25 per day.
“Childcare costs can often rival mortgage payments,” she said at NorQuest College, where one of the centres will open.
The move expanded a $10-million pilot project that saw the creation of 22 early learning and childcare centres in 2017, following a bilateral agreement with the federal government. Ottawa promised $46 million per year over three years for the program.
The 6,000 new spaces announced Wednesday will cost $4.5 million in additional provincial funding.
Families have had to search for less expensive childcare because of costly services, Notley said.
“These high-quality non-profit childcare centres tended to be very expensive,” she said.
“If you weren’t eligible for the subsidy, you were paying well over $1,000 a month for each child.”
Parents will save an average of $425 a month under the new program, according to government estimates.
The NDP unveiled 82 locations, including 35 centres in the Edmonton region, with spots opening in Spruce Grove and St. Albert. The remaining locations will be publicly announced later.
“It is a No. 1 priority for us, as our finances increase, to be able to invest in this,” Notley told reporters, adding most of the centres will be operational in June.
Creating affordable childcare was part of the NDP’s election platform in 2015, with Notley touting the need for access to quality services.
Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee said the new centres will create 400 jobs. Plus, parents will have better options to return to work, she said.
“By adding 100 more (centres) across Alberta, we’re allowing roughly 1,400 parents, mostly women, to find better employment opportunities.”