“Why is advocacy so important?” “Why should I care about something that doesn’t directly affect me?”
Advocacy ensures that people have their voices heard on issues that are important to them – that their views and needs are considered when decisions and policies are being made. As a society, we should care about issues affecting our community, even if it seems as though such issues don’t impact us . In all likelihood, with a trickle down effect, something that affects one sector of our community affects us all.
One such issue affecting our country, particularly British Columbia, is the severe shortage of affordable, licensed quality childcare. Canada ranked last on child care among developed nations, with BC coming in last amongst our provinces on top of that. It is often referred to as an “invisible crisis” meaning most British Columbians are unaware of the situation, unless they are new parents returning to work and suddenly faced with the daunting task of finding child care. This is a prime example of why society should care about an issue that may not affect them directly. If parents are put into the position of having to leave their career behind in order to start a family, what happens to our labour force?
There are three main problems that the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC hope to resolve with the $10 A Day Child Care initiative:
- Cost of child care – it can range from $800 per month for preschool aged children to over $1000 per month for younger children (provincial average)
- A lack of affordable, quality licensed spaces – parents can’t find spaces, let alone afford them
- Early Childhood Educator wages and benefits are too low leading to low job retention. If the province were to fund more licensed spaces, would there be qualified educators to run centres?
Due to these issues surrounding the childcare crisis, many parents are forced to use unregulated care, which may or may not be meeting health and safety standards or legal requirements. The $10 A Day Child Care initiative is a solution in which 82% of British Columbians believe will be beneficial to families. The plan proposes:
- $10 a day for full time care
- $7 a day for part time care
- no fees for care for families earning less than $45 000 annually
The plan would be accessible to all families who want or need it, to children who have extra support needs and to families whose work includes non-traditional hours (shift workers, for example). BC is fortunate to have a wide range of cultural diversity. The plan also endeavours have a range of programs offered to reflect our provincial mosaic and support Indigenous child care.
In order to implement such programming, it is essential to have qualified educators who feel respected for their work with children. The $10 A Day plan “would support caregivers to obtain an ECE Diploma. Over time, the workforce will transition to a Bachelor’s degree. Wages will also increase to at least $25 per hour, on average, along with improved benefits and regular adjustments for inflation” ( www.10aday.ca/about ). This will help to ensure that Early Childhood Educators remain in their chosen field and fill those job vacancies for the child care centres that so desperately need them.
There has been progress towards a resolution to the child care chaos from both the provincial and federal governments. In February 2018, the BC government created it’s Child Care BC Plan which shares the goals of the $10 A Day Child Care in reducing child care fees, increasing wages for educators, and creating more licensed spaces that meet diverse family needs. Yet, there is work to be done to see this plan through to fruition. Although the federal government incorporated new long term funding for child care in 2017 ( for the first time in over ten years!), the funding commitment is not enough to change Canada’s international ranking for child care funding among wealthy countries and it remains low. Advocates continue to lobby for increased federal government funding and accountability for ensuring those funds are used appropriately for centres throughout Canada.
The $10 A Day Child Care initiative benefits us all!
Access to affordable, quality child care means more parents/caregivers can return to the workforce. This is beneficial to our economy in that families would be less reliant on government benefits, and spending would increase in the retail and service industry.
The added benefit of the $10 A Day Child Care plan is that Early Childhood Educators, who have been traditionally underpaid, would also see an increase in their spending power adding to the benefit for the economy.
Having access to child care that is of quality and affordable means parents do not have to choose between having a career or having a family. This allows growth for our community, our province, our country. You can add to the growing volume of the voices who are presenting the case for the $10 A Day Child Care plan by visiting 10aday.ca where you can sign a petition put forth to the government, volunteer ( there is a volunteer package with outreach materials available), and track updates.
Share the plan information and initiative on social media to spread the word about BC’s child care crisis and how the $10 A Day Child Care plan hopes to resolve it!
https://www.10aday.ca/