Childcare
BC Liberals
- Provide $10-a-day childcare to families making up to $65,000 annually, and stepped rates of $20 or $30-a-day for families of incomes up to $125,000.
- Build 10,000 new childcare spaces across BC.
- Expand access to before-and-after school care in schools.
Implement a new, online province-wide electronic application that is voluntary for parents and required for all providers receiving government funding. The parent would have the option to reject an invitation for an available space and wait for the next one.
Encourage and support a variety of non-profit and market-based child care providers.
Expand training and support for better qualified child care workers.
Replace the Minister of State for Child Care with a full Ministry to manage licencing (sic), funding and oversight.
BC NDP
- Protect childcare in law.
- Bring $10-a-day childcare to more families.
- Create more childcare spaces through a new childcare capital programme, exceeding target of 22,000 new spaces.
- Work towards universal access to before- and after-school care on school grounds.
- Train more ECEs.
Protecting childcare in law: Much in the way that legislation was introduced to enshrine the concept of universal health care, we will protect the principles of affordable, accessible, and inclusive quality child care in legislation.
Bringing $10-a-day child care to more families: Our focus on affordability for families has already led to 32,700 families paying $10-a-day or less on child care for their kids. Partnering with the federal government, we will expand the number of $10-a-day child care spaces while enhancing our other affordability measures - delivering savings of thousands of dollars each month to help families get ahead.
More spaces through a new child care capital program: We will exceed our target of 22,000 new child care spaces by expanding our child care capital program and modular strategy for child care. When government builds a new school, housing complex or other projects we will work to ensure child care is included in their capital plans.
More convenient and secure child care at your local school: A John Horgan NDP government will work towards providing universal access to before- and after-school care on school grounds so parents know their children are safe at one place for the full work day.
More convenient child care options for working parents: Through partnerships with crown corporations, universities, local governments, First Nations, and public and private sector employers, we will work to make sure new office/business construction and upgrades will include space for child care centres, so that more parents can access needed child care at their places of work.
Training and keeping more early learning educators: We'll make sure Early Childhood Educators (ECE) are a well-supported profession, just like teachers and other professionals who work in BC's education system. We will continue to implement and enhance the Early Care and Learning Recruitment and Retention Strategy which includes expanding our successful ECE wage enhancement program.
Integrating child care into the broader learning environment: To make sure child care is brought formally into the learning timeline, we will move responsibility for child care to the Ministry of Education. It will oversee delivery of all childcare initiatives and funding, manage a capital investment program to build more new spaces, and ensure quality care through ongoing curriculum enhancements.
— From Working for You.