Child-care deal may lead to universal program: minister
Political uncertainty keeps B.C. out of the equation for now
OTTAWA — The new child-care deal the federal government has signed with most provinces might not be a universal program, but Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said it could make way for one later down the road.
“It’s an aspiration and long-term vision that is coherent with universality,” Duclos said Monday after he signed a multilateral agreement with the provinces and territories, except Quebec, which decided not to join, and B.C., which is still working through the impact of its recent election.
The federal government spent more than a year negotiating the deal — called the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework — to set out the parameters for billions in new child care spending unveiled in the 2017 budget: quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility and inclusivity.
Many child-care advocates, who have pushed for a national daycare program modelled after the one that Quebec has had since 1997 — where every family, no matter their income, is eligible for some form of subsidized space — have pointed out that universality was missing from the list.
Don Giesbrecht, CEO of the Canadian Child Care Federation, said he wants to see a move towards child care being affordable and accessible for everyone, because the need extends beyond vulnerable populations.
Although it already has its own universal program, Quebec is expected to reach a deal with the federal government to get its share of the money.
The framework is meant to pave the way for separate, bilateral agreements to be hammered out with the provinces and territories over the next few months, which will allow a total of $1.2 billion to flow into their coffers over the next three years.
That is part of the $7.5 billion the federal Liberals promised to spend on child care over 11 years, beginning with $500 million this year and increasing to $870 million annually by 2026 to fund spaces — or improvements — in provinces and territories.
That also includes funding for indigenous child care both on and off-reserve. New federal funding for child care cannot be used to displace existing money, meaning that it must be put toward creating new subsidized spaces, improving quality or other areas that fall within the deal’s principles.