Canadian mothers are in the workforce in greater numbers than those in many other OECD countries – 77% of mothers of 3-5 year olds were in the workforce in 2007. Mothers, children and families face severe disadvantages without a pan-Canadian universal child care system. This is what child care looks like for most women in Canada: Unavailable: Today most children still lack access to regulated child care, with spaces for only about 20% of 0-5 year olds (2008). Access is even poorer for infants/toddlers, children with disabilities, Aboriginal and rural children. Many working mothers without access to regulated care or a close relative to step in must fall back on unregulated arrangements of unknown quality and safety. Unaffordable: Canadian child care relies on parent fees so it is underfunded and unsustainable, with fees too high for ordinary families. High quality non-profit centres in large cities can cost $2000 a month; only in Québec is child care more affordable at $7 per day. Uncertain quality: Child care quality depends on funding, staffing and whether it is operated for-profit. For-profit child care is growing in Canada, up from 20% of spaces (2004) to 25% (2008). Research shows for-profit child care – whether small individually owned centres, chains or the growing Big Box sector – is unlikely to provide the high quality care children need. |
Insecure: Canada’s child care is market-based, not a publicly managed system. This means a combination of high parent fees, low staff wages, unmet demand, and uncertain quality. One of the good reasons public funding for child care is the right thing to do is that child care services stimulate the economy. Canadian research shows that every dollar invested in high quality child care programs increases GDP by $2.30 – far ahead of stimulus from construction and manufacturing. In the long term every public dollar invested in high quality child care programs returns $2.45 in economic benefits.
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA MUST
- PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT FUNDING TO PROVINCES/TERRITORIES THAT COMMIT TO BUILDING UNIVERSALLY ACCESSIBLE, PUBLICLY MANAGED, HIGH QUALITY, NOT-FOR-PROFIT CHILD CARE SYSTEMS, WITH ADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR QUÉBEC.
- PUBLIC FUNDING SHOULD REACH 1% OF GDP BY 2020.
- THE PAN-CANADIAN POLICY FRAMEWORK SHOULD BE BASED ON: PUBLIC PLANS, PUBLIC EXPANSION, PUBLIC FUNDING AND PUBLIC MONITORING.
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