VANCOUVER – British Columbia is well positioned to expand its goal of $ 10 a day childcare thanks to federal commitments announced last week, according to a longtime proponent of the program.

Sharon Gregson, BC’s spokeswoman for the $ 10 day childcare campaign, said the province has come out in a better position than most other provinces by testing low-cost daycare models, even if its own budget is not up to par.

The province should be able to sign agreements to allow the new federal dollars to flow quickly to create more locations, including new licensed places in public buildings, and develop a provincial pay grid for early childhood educators. It will only depend on political will, she said.

“We aim high,” said Gregson, who also works with BC’s Coalition for Child Care Advocates and is a board member of the Child Care Now national advocacy group.

“With the amount of money that the federal government has put on the table, it is very possible for the province to achieve this.”

Funding for universal childcare was a key element of the federal budget, although details of the distribution of the funds are not yet known.

The budget provided for $ 27.2 billion over five years, beginning this fiscal year, for new spending that the Liberals plan to send to the provinces to subsidize day care. The pledge depends on the provinces meeting required objectives in terms of affordability, quality of care and training for early childhood educators.

While the federal budget is promising, the BC budget has been disappointing to Gregson and others.

During the fall election campaign, the NDP pledged $ 1.25 billion in new operating funds for childcare over the next two years, but the budget announced last week was only $ 233 million over three years.

Of this, $ 111 million will fund 3,750 new daycare through 75 new prototype locations for care costs that cost $ 10 a day or less.

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Paul Kershaw, associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health, said the NDP has made significant improvements to childcare compared to the previous Liberal British Columbia government, but the budget suggests the province has no plans to to be as active as they promised in the election.

“It is not enough for the province to simply rely on the big announcement of childcare in the federal budget,” Kershaw said in a statement.

“Ottawa still needs an active partner to realize the vision of $ 10 a day childcare.”

The budget also doesn’t list building childcare facilities among other capital projects as a priority, he said.

Treasury Secretary Selina Robinson said federal funding will help the province go further.

“Now that the federal government is finally in the game, there are so many more opportunities to continue investing and growing childcare investments here in British Columbia,” she said when speaking to reporters on Household Day.

The pandemic has shown the vital role of childcare and the sector will contribute to economic recovery, she said.

“Events over the past year have shown how childcare supports families by enabling parents, especially women, to return to work. It supports entrepreneurs and helps build a strong local economy that benefits everyone.”

Minister of State for Childcare, Katrina Chen, said in a statement that her staff had already contacted her federal counterparts to talk about improving access for families.

BC’s investments to date have placed it in a great position to continue expanding with federal support, she said.

British Columbia is not the only province ahead in implementation.

Prince Edward Island built an early learning and childcare system while Manitoba worked to improve wages and fees, Gregson said.

“Each province is in quite a different location,” Gregson said, and many provinces have insisted that the federal government avoid using a cookie cutter.

“But I think what they don’t understand is that there are far more similarities in childcare than there are differences between the provinces.”

All provinces need more licensed spaces in the non-profit and public sectors. They also need to improve wages and education, improve support for indigenous-led care, and improve overall affordability for families, Gregson said.

In Gregson’s view, the biggest obstacle to a quick transition is political will. The Royal Commission on Women’s Status first recommended a national daycare system in 1970, she said.

Gregson advocated universal childcare in 1987 when she was a single mother trying to find space for her two young children to attend university. She helped start the $ 10 a day campaign in 2011.

Now she says she does the job for her one year old grandson.

“I’ve been doing this with a lot of colleagues for a long time,” she said.

“I think the difference is that, compared to when I was founded, there is now a widespread understanding and consensus that public investment in childcare is a good thing.”

This Canadian press report was first published on April 28, 2021.

Amy Smart, the Canadian press