Since the start of Ottawa’s $10-a-day program, Sandra Christian has had many families leave her private child-care centre in B.C. for a spot in a subsidized centre.
But that’s not what worries her — child-care services are in high demand so empty spots get filled quickly.
What worries her and her office manager, Carley Babiarz, is some of these families have said the money they’ve saved on child care has helped them buy a second property.
“We don’t believe that that’s the intention of the [$10-a-day] program,” said Babiarz, who works at the Creative Kids Learning Centers, which has nine locations in Surrey, Langley and Chilliwack, B.C. “It doesn’t best suit our low-income… families.”
Many other child-care workers shared the same opinion at the first national conference for child-care operators, hosted by the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs on Tuesday.
Fair enough. I’m pro supporting families myself. I’m against wealthy people helping themselves to things intended for working class families. It sounds like the government didn’t put the necessary checks and balances in place to ensure the subsidies go to those who need them
Maybe we could take half of the O&G subsidies and tax breaks to properly fund daycares instead.
Taxpayer dollars going back to taxpayers (and increasing their living conditions) instead of corporate executives and shareholders of businesses that are destroying our planet and causing all sorts of problems for us and other living creatures?! What a radical idea. I’m all for it