Data revealed some families would not use subsidized daycare services, with approximately 25% of young children being cared for in their homes..“It provides a snapshot of early childcare use across the country,” cabinet wrote in an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the Commons. .“Respondents were asked to select all types of arrangements they had used in the previous three months.”.According to the department of Employment, there are 2,281,802 children under the age of six across the country, with approximately 688,500 children or 30%, enrolled in daycare. A total of 539,900 children or 24% are being raised within their own homes. This includes children taken care of by grandparents or nannies, but does not include parents who are on temporary paid parental leave..Figures were released at the request of Conservative MP Michelle Ferreri (Peterborough-Kawartha, ON), who asked, “What is the government’s estimate on the number of children in the age range to be covered by childcare and what number does the government estimate are currently enrolled in $10 per day childcare?”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the cabinet before the 2021 election outlined its Canada-Wide Early Learning and Childcare Plan that proposed cutting daycare fees by 50% to $10 per day by 2026. .“Ten-dollar childcare is a feminist policy and smart economic policy which will make life more affordable for young families,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said at the time.. Kids raised at home table .The planned budget for subsidies over five years would cost $27.2 billion. However, in a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) report in 2022, the estimated upfront costs were projected to be $28.3 billion..“The Budget Office estimated the total net cost of the plan would be $26.4 billion by the end of 2026,” said the report Cost Estimate of the Federal National Childcare Plan. .“This includes a gross cost of $28.3 billion and a cost recovery of $1.8 billion” through higher tax collections..“In 2026, the funding gap between the Budget Office projection and the planned federal government spending would result in the policy providing 181,963 fewer full-time spaces than would be required to meet the demand for licensed childcare spaces under the policy,” wrote analysts..The PBO estimated a total demand for 679,000 daycare spaces, which would accommodate about a third of the pre-school population. Subsidies were justified by the cabinet as an economic boost for all families, regardless of their daycare usage..“We said we would create new economic opportunities for mothers all across Canada and thus greater prosperity for us all,” Freeland told the Commons March 28. .“It worked.”
