Child-care program key to recovery: Pelham councillor

‘ We really need to think about this as a very, very different kind of recession,’ says Brock professor

Whether the term is “pink-collar recession” or “she-cession,” research shows women have suffered significant economic setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And as experts and government officials look toward recovery, one factor stands out: child care.

It was a key component of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s throne speech on Sept. 23, but Pelham regional Coun. Diana Huson was thinking about it in August when she presented a motion to regional council about the role of child care in the economic recovery.

“The motion really was a call to action on behalf of the provincial government, in terms of asking them to recognize child care as being essential to our economic recovery,” she said.

Huson said when schools and child-care centres shut down in March, families had to adapt quickly and, in most cases, mothers stepped in to manage child care or schooling.

Kate Bezanson, associate dean in the faculty of social sciences at Brock University, said Niagara faces a “double whammy” in this recession because not only are mothers wrestling with child-care concerns, but there are a significant number of women employed in the hard-hit sectors of accommodation, tourism and service.

“We really need to think about this as a very, very different kind of recession,” she said. “It calls for very different tools, in the immediate term and in the long term.”

For Bezanson, data supports significant investment in Canadian child care, which is why she was glad to see reference to “a significant, long-term, sustained investment” in a national child-care program in the Liberal government’s throne speech.

Bezanson said one of the most important factors in getting women back into the workforce will be “access to safe, quality, affordable, accessible child care.”

“If we’re looking for policy tools that can help us move from this period of shifting landscape to a meaningful, sustained return, it’s a really safe and smart investment,” she said.

Huson said a national childcare program would have significant economic benefits, referring to research that shows a correlation to an increase in women’s labour force participation with an increase in a country’s gross domestic product.

“Not only is it good policy for supporting households and children in terms of their growth and development, (but) it has very positive economic spillovers into our communities and contributing to our economy,” she said. “It’s just plus, plus, plus.”

Huson said an investment in a public child-care system makes sense.

“I think if the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s how vital child care is to support our economy,” said Huson.