Good morning. I’m Dave McGinn, filling in for Danielle Groen. Canada’s national child-care program has received a mixed progress review on cutting fees and creating spaces. More on that below. But first:
Today’s headlines
- Pierre Poilievre says a Conservative government would set immigration targets based on housing, jobs and health care data
- The number of opioid-related deaths in Alberta declined again this year, with the province reporting fewer overdose deaths in May than in any month since before the pandemic.
- CIBC has reported a sharp increase in profit, citing revenue growth, lower loan-loss provisions
Children's backpacks and shoes are seen at a daycare facility in Langley, B.C., on May 29, 2018.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Child care
Lower child-care fees, more spaces needed
Parents across Canada cheered when, in 2021, the federal government announced it would be spending $27-billion over five years to create an affordable, accessible national child-care system. Across the country, daycare was a mess, with parents scrambling to find a spot, sometimes putting their names on waiting lists as soon as their baby was born, with some even holding off having kids because of the exorbitant expense.
The federal plan had some big goals: cutting costs for parents to an average of $10 a day by 2026 and creating 250,000 new spaces. Ottawa had to negotiate separate deals with each province and territory to make the system a national one.
Now that we’re past the halfway point of the deal, you might be wondering what progress has been made so far. A new report from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, a Toronto-based non-profit, non-partisan research institute, finds the progress has been pretty good on cutting fees, but not so great on creating spaces.
Considering the high cost of child care prior to the announcement of the federal program – annual fees were as high as $20,000 for one child – it’s no surprise that cutting how much parents pay prompted so many headlines early on.
The promise of an average of $10-a-day child care helped convince every province and territory to eventually sign a deal, with Ontario the last to do so.
So, how are the governments doing on cutting fees? Pretty well. The goal of decreasing fees by 50 per cent on the way to an average of $10-a-day care by 2026 was either reached, or almost reached by all jurisdictions by 2022, according to the report.
In even more welcome news, six jurisdictions – Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nunavut – had achieved the target of $10 a day by this year.
So when it comes to lowering fees, the deal so far is – cue Borat voice – great success!
What about creating new spaces? Here’s where more mixed results come in.
Remember, the deal is for children who are 5 or younger. As the report notes, there were about 635,000 regulated full-day spaces for children in this age group by 2023, an increase of about 45,000 since 2021. Meaning, there are enough spaces for 31 per cent of children in Canada, up from 28 per cent in 2021.
There are two causes for concern, however. The first: The number of new spaces isn’t huge. Under the deal, 250,000 new spaces are expected to be created across the country. There’s still a lot more work to do in order to meet that target.
Also, much of the new capacity has come from spaces created by the for-profit sector. From the beginning, the federal government was clear in wanting to promote and prioritize expansion in non-profit care.
“There are certainly areas that are left to work on. There has been expansion and we need more expansion that is equitably distributed,” Martha Friendly, executive director of the Childcare Resource and Research Unit, told The Globe’s Fatima Raza.
The emphasis on prioritizing non-profit care has always irked many for-profit operators.
Krystal Churcher, chair for the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs, told The Globe there needs to be less government involvement in child care, adding that the government disrespects the work of for-profit operators.
“It cuts them right out and just disregards that investment, and it’s really forcing a one-size-fits-all,” Ms. Churcher said.
If you’re a parent hoping to find an affordable space for your child, the good news is that the federal government remains optimistic about the deal’s progress.
Genevieve Lemaire, press secretary to Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, told The Globe that Ottawa is committed to working with the provinces and territories to achieve the deal’s targets by 2026.
Building a national child-care system, Ms. Lemaire said, “does not happen overnight.”
The Shot
Netanyahu’s objective
Israel’s incursion into the West Bank that began this week is a reminder that Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking total victory, writes Mark MacKinnon, The Globe’s senior international correspondent. Read his analysis here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home The collapse of BC United, the Official Opposition party in the province, leaves candidates scrambling.
Abroad A Hong Kong court has convicted two journalists in a landmark sedition case.
Housing University and college students in Canada face a unique affordability and availability challenge, which some developers see as an opportunity
Transit The outgoing CEO of the Toronto Transit Commission is warning against delaying funding for subway upgrades
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