Federal and British Columbia governments reach agreement on child care funding

The agreement aims to create 30,000 new spaces in British Columbia over the next five years, with fees for regulated spaces cut in half by the end of 2022.

“If you are a parent, this historic agreement led by the government of British Columbia and the federal government means help is on the way,” Trudauto said at a press conference in Coquitlam, B.C. .

Liberal childcare offer made in budget

British Columbia is the first province to sign the Liberal offer in the April budget, which pledged $ 27.2 billion over five years, starting this fiscal year, in new spending the ruling party is targeting to be sent to the provinces to subsidize day care centers.

The specific conditions attached to the pledge will dictate what forms of child care might be eligible for federal funding and how much parenting costs must drop over the next five years.

The pandemic has laid bare that without good child care it is virtually impossible for parents, especially mothers, to have a career, Trudeau said.

“Hard-working families deserve better and our economy deserves better too,” he said. “This is exactly what a feminist revival looks like.”

The federal NDP says the Liberals have promised child care since 1993 without following through, and that signs of a likely election undermine the government’s stated priority of helping parents.

Trudeau began his day behind closed doors in Metro Vancouver by discussing the British Columbia wildfires and the recent punitive heat wave with members of his cabinet’s Incident Response Group.

He is expected to spend much of the remainder of the day in Coquitlam, where he will meet with BC Premier John Horgan, who joined him in the child custody announcement.

Province launched pilot program in 2017

After being elected in 2017, the NDP government of British Columbia launched a pilot program of $ 10 per day child care and pledged during last fall’s election campaign to expand the program to the province-wide.

Horgan said the pandemic has only made it clearer how vital child care is to the economy.

“If we didn’t have open and available child care spaces, our communities would not function,” he said.

The Prime Minister is also meeting with the Mayor of Lytton and Indigenous leaders from this Fraser Canyon community this afternoon to discuss recovery after a wildfire that destroyed the village last week.

Trudeau is touring the country this week, after visits to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., As well as in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has launched his own tour, starting on Vancouver Island.

Singh and local NDP MP Alistair MacGregor are expected to make an announcement in Duncan, B.C. about the party’s housing plan.