The Western Star

September is such a busy time, we almost missed this terrific column by Dana Squires in the Western Star. Based on her personal experience of trying to find quality child care, she comes to the conclusion that the so-called "universal child care benefit" be directed to actually creating more affordable, high quality child care.

"That taxable $100 a month for children up to age six is our current government’s answer to the child-care crisis. It does nothing to create more child-care spots, nothing to regulate current spots, nothing to enhance the education and employment standards for child-care workers. It’s a drop in the bucket to what is really needed, albeit a costly one".
 
That money would be better spent on creating and supporting non-profit community-care centers, providing training for care providers, hiring more inspectors and redeveloping licensing criteria for short-term care environments, and subsidizing the costs of care at the source.
 
While provincial governments currently subsidizes lower income families, that subsidy is only available if their child is placed in licensed care — which is practically impossible to find. "
 
To read the full story, please click here.