By: Manal Kashif, SFU Student
On October 9, the Centre for Family Equity released a statement on the “importance of continued government investment to expand the publicly funded $10-a-day childcare system.” This system allows parents and caregivers to access affordable childcare spaces for just $10 daily.
The Peak interviewed Viveca Ellis, executive director at the Centre for Family Equity, which “addresses family poverty in BC.” Ellis described some of the challenges around the cost of childcare that single mothers living below the poverty line in BC have been speaking on for about a decade.
She said “sometimes the cost of childcare would cancel out the benefit of working because [childcare] was so high.” Ellis also said that the “lack of access to affordable, quality, publicly-funded childcare is one of the main barriers that low-income [single] mothers experience when it comes to being able to work and access the labour market.” In 2020, the poverty rate for single-mother households in Canada was 31.3%, with a median income of $46,990 in 2019. In BC, “full-time, centre-based” childcare costs about $1,120 a month. The $10-a-day system reduces this cost by approximately $920, making childcare about $200 a month per child.
Ellis explained that for a long time, childcare has been a market-based program for profit, in which fees are very high and availability is uneven and not transparent. She said we don’t have enough childcare spaces to meet the “existing need,” with some areas in BC being “childcare deserts.
“Lack of access to affordable, quality, publicly-funded childcare is one of the main barriers that low-income [single] mothers experience when it comes to being able to work and access the labour market.” — Viveca Ellis, executive director at the Centre for Family Equity
“[Mothers] were excluded from that system — they couldn’t afford it and so they tended to choose unsafe or more affordable childcare,” said Ellis. This includes dropping children off at a neighbour’s house or cheaper, unlicensed childcare places.
The Centre for Family Equity conducted a research study with UBC that collected data on “thirty low-income [single] mothers across the province.” One group was provided with “$10-a-day childcare support and the Affordable Child Care Benefit” and the other group handled expenses without any financial support. The data showed significant differences in the day-to-day living of these families, such as being able to “move off income assistance and access the labour market to attain quality, full-time employment.”
On why we need a $10-a-day system implemented, Ellis said, “Our research participants reported very high satisfaction with the high quality of care that their children received in the publicly funded system.” The research study led to a cohesive list of solutions including “the establishment of new $10-a-day ChildCareBC centres in BC’s childcare deserts” to make these centres more accessible. The Centre for Family Equity also sent out letters to political parties around $10-a-day childcare.
“Their rights are protected [ . . . ] as children; their right to safety and security, to healthy food, and a warm quality environment where they thrive and grow as children,” Ellis said when asked about the long-term benefits of this program. She said that by removing the costs and providing quality, affordable childcare, “families can truly begin to thrive.”
The Centre of Family Equity stated they “support the federal government’s mandate to implement $10-a-day childcare in every province by 2026.”
