Fund child care, not daycare spaces

Re Investing in child care a win-win, Letters, Dec. 19 As a low-income single mother, I know it is certainly true that child care is getting more costly. Child care in daycare centres is heavily subsidized, even for high-income families, so although fees can seem high, they do not cover even 50 per cent of the actual costs. Government covers the rest of the costs.

Children in parental child care receive no such funding, so their parents pay the full costs, including the cost of reduced income.

Statistics Canada says only about 18 per cent of children 0-4 are in daycare centres. That’s because parents prefer different types of care, have schedules that don’t fit the 9-5, Monday to Friday model, or because their children have behavioural or medical issues that make daycare unacceptable.

By funding daycare centres far more than any other care forms, government discriminates against children who are not in centres. It’s 2017: discrimination needs to end. Helen Ward, president, Kids First Parent Association, Edmonton It has never been very Canadian to place the responsibility to boost the economy and increase tax revenues on the shoulders of young mothers with children.

The proposed Quebec model is unfair, in that the tax pool provides about $10,000 per child for public daycare and no equivalent for the child whose parents choose home care. It also was found to benefit primarily privileged families, while children from low- income families, who would benefit most from preschool programs, are underrepresented.

One model that treats all children and parents equally has been used in Finland. It offers a generous home-care allowance available to all who choose it. Roughly half of all parents choose this method while half choose the equivalent tax-subsidized public daycare. This has put an end to politicians endlessly bickering over daycare spaces. Diane Watts, REAL Women of Canada, Ottawa A wise investment in child care involves ensuring all parents receive support. That includes those who do shift work, who juggle schedules to incorporate home or family care and those who forego the paid economy for the sake of their children altogether. Investments in spaces tend to neglect the aforementioned categories. Canadian politicians need to make it easy for parents to make the choices that work for their family. Andrea Mrozek, Cardus Family, Ottawa