Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said a national daycare program has created a fraction of the 276,000 spaces promised under a $30 billion subsidy, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Demand for childcare has been increasing as parent fees decline,” said ESDC in a briefing note. Cabinet proposed billions in five-year subsidies in 2021 on a promise of $10-per-day childcare and 250,000 new high-quality childcare spaces by 2026. To date, ESDC said 80,127 new spaces have opened. It did not estimate how many parents were receiving $10-per-day daycare. It acknowledged the childcare system was short thousands of workers. “The employment level among early childhood educators and assistants in Canada is 5.7% below pre-pandemic levels, with an estimated 15,000 fewer people, mostly women, working in this occupation,” it said. “At the same time, Canada’s overall employment level surpassed pre-pandemic levels, suggesting many of these workers may have moved to different occupations in the last three years.”It called low pay in the sector “one of the most critical factors contributing to workforce shortages.”Disclosure of the figures followed MPs’ complaints they were unable to find basic data on the daycare program under Bill C-35. The bill before the House of Commons proposes to set out the Canadian government’s vision for national daycare with monitoring by an 18-member National Advisory Council on Early Learning. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary-Nose Hill, AB) complained in a speech in the House of Commons the program was short on crucial details. For example, Rempel Garner said she could not find how many children were enrolled in spots. “There are no data on the average income of parents who have the $10-a-day spots,” said Rempel Garner. “The government has not put means testing in the bill, and I am concerned these spots will be disproportionately going to higher income Canadians.”Liberal MP Ken McDonald (Avalon, NL) said constituents have complained about being unable to find $10-per-day daycare. “My office is getting calls from parents saying there are no spaces available,” said McDonald. “It is great to have $10-a-day daycare, but they need the spaces for the kids to be able to go there.”The Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE) said on January 24 it was being strong-armed into accepting a deal for the Canadian government’s $10-per-day childcare agreement with the Alberta government.READ MORE: Alberta childcare operators say they will ‘reluctantly’ sign on to Liberal’s $10 daycare agreementAACE Chair Krystal Churcher admitted childcare operators had no choice but to sign the 2024 Affordability Grant Agreement or face drastic service reductions and insolvency. “This decision should not be considered a win for the Alberta government, the Government of Canada, or for the childcare sector,” said Churcher.
