PREDICTING BUDGET IS CHILD’S PLAY
NDP remains coy, but drops a big hint that something’s on way for daycare
For the traditional day-beforethe-budget media splash, Finance Minister Carole James summoned reporters to a childcare centre in her Victoria riding Monday, a choice that was as apt politically as it was awash in munchkin cuteness.
Before James arrived, reporters busied themselves interviewing the dozen or so three- and four-year-olds — “validators” as they are known in media jargon — who were on hand to serve as a backdrop for the cameras.
Then James turned up and proceeded to read a story: I Love My White Shoes, first in Eric Litwin’s Pete the Cat books about an irrepressibly cheery feline who remains in good spirits despite stepping in successive messes (strawberries, blueberries) that spoil the colour of his, well you know.
The finance minister sang the title song and recited the lesson learned: “No matter what you step in, keep walking along, singing your song.”
With that she thanked the children “for letting me talk about child care to you guys today, so I can talk about how important it is to look after you guys.”
She teased press gallery members by addressing them in the same exaggerated tone of voice she’d used for the kids. Alas, she declined to say whether the advice to remain upbeat “no matter what you step in” could also serve as a teachable moment for New Democrats, given the high expectations associated with today’s release of the provincial budget.
Still, there was no mystery about the choice of venues, which hearkened back to James’ entry into provincial politics almost two decades ago, when she was serving as director of child care under the then-New Democratic Party government.
James helped put together Child Care B.C., offering full care at $14 a day, or $7 for before and after school. Budgeted at $1.2 billion for the first four years, the plan was rated as one of the most ambitious in Canada at the time.
It barely got off the ground before the New Democrats (with James losing her first bid for office in Victoria Beacon Hill) were defeated by the B.C. Liberals in the 2001 election.
I asked her how this year’s version of NDP child care compared to the one she presided over 17 years ago.
“I’ve been thinking about the differences,” she replied. “This really is a program for today — a program that fits the needs of families, communities and businesses today.”
But when pressed for details, she fell back on the “wait for the budget” mainstay that finance ministers invariably resort to in similar circumstances.
Ditto when I asked her about the suggestion from Green leader Andrew Weaver, the NDP’s partner in power sharing, that child care subsidies be means tested to ensure public funding is provided only to the truly needy.
Still, James did provide a window on a few of the NDP’s child care priorities when she confirmed the budget will incorporate Ottawa’s recent commitment of $153 million in new child-care funding over three years.
The B.C. cabinet last week signed off on an agreement to spend the money on federally designated priorities with specific and measurable targets.
The province will dispense $13.7 million in capital grants in the first year to create 1,370 new spaces for infants and toddlers in 14 communities, judged to be among the more “vulnerable or underserved.”
Year 2 and 3 will see the province dispense $60 million to create 1,786 new infant/toddler spaces as a “prototype” for expanded service down the road.
Half of the spaces will be available for free to the neediest cases (family incomes less than $51,000). The other almost 900 spaces will be subsidized at no more than $200 a month.
A third clause in the agreement commits $10 million in each of the three years to establish new child-care spaces for 590 Indigenous families, twothirds of them in a dozen urban centres, the rest on reserves.
A further $10 million a year will go to providing care for 1,428 children with special needs over the three years. Plus a total of $3 million will secure 250 specialized spaces for children of young parents, defined as those who became parents under the age of 20, and who are currently under the age of 24.
Lastly, the province will steer $16.5 million in federal funds to train future early childhood educators and to professional development for current practitioners. All in, some 4,000 current and future educators are expected to benefit.
So, to recap, the federal money should provide about 5,500 additional spaces over three years, mainly for infants and toddlers, with additional takeup for special needs, Indigenous and children of young parents.
But that’s still a long way from funding the ambitious $10-a-day plan favoured by the coalition of child-care advocates and embraced by the New Democrats in their last election plan.
For the province to remain on track to eventually hit the $10-a-day target, the coalition says the New Democrats would need to one-up the $51 million a year federal contribution with a further $175 million in the first year, building to $400 million in the third.
With the New Democrats having dropped the $10-a-day slogan from this year’s throne speech, it is no longer clear whether they remain wedded to the coalition’s funding targets.
But, as the finance minister says, “wait for the budget.”
This really is a program for today — a program that fits the needs of families, communities and businesses today.