The search to find quality, affordable child care is often front of mind for parents — but high costs and a shortage of spaces can make choices difficult.
According to Janet Saliba, owner of Airdrie-based daycare centre Jump’n Jellybeans, it’s a concern she hears often from parents.
“Parents are looking for child care, but they are struggling with the payments (for) fees,” she said. “It’s a very expensive business. I’d like to see more parents qualify for (subsidies).”
Plans to revamp child care in the country are prominent platform items in the upcoming federal election, with policies ranging from nationalized programs to benefits packages. Candidates vying to represent the Banff-Airdrie riding outlined their respective platforms prior to election day, Oct. 19.
The NDP made headlines in October 2014 when the party unveiled a promise to implement a $15-a-day national child care program.
In response to questions surrounding how the party will fund the plan – estimates peg the program at $5 billion – statements by NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair suggest provinces foot at least some of the bill, and party initiatives like raising corporate taxes and scrapping income splitting will help cover the rest.
“For many, (having to pay for child care) is a career-limiting move – even fathers decide to stay home because they can’t afford child care. They sacrifice their careers to help (their) families,” Banff-Airdrie NDP candidate Joanne Boissonneault said. “(We want) to help all Albertans, to enable these people who want to keep their careers. It will be more affordable for them.
“That’s a way to give back to the economy as well – (for example), if an engineer goes back to work and (pays) taxes.”
To help families struggling to pay child care costs in the riding, Boissonneault said she would work with local councils and mayors to push for improved accessibility.
“In Banff-Airdrie, we can train and our people can get good certificates. We need to ensure it’s a quality system, and we need to ensure to cap it,” she said. “We need to work with our mayors, our municipalities (and) our councils to improve our child care system in these areas.
“There is a huge shortage and we need to help our families to support our kids.”
Banff-Airdrie Conservative candidate and incumbent Blake Richards said his party’s initiatives – such as the boosted Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) and a family tax cut implemented Jan. 1 – as examples of the party’s philosophy of giving parents the choice of how to manage their money, as opposed to the NDP government-sponsored plan.
“That choice of how to raise children should be made by parents. The NDP is proposing a nationalized daycare system, we believe parents should have that choice,” he said. “Families should be able to keep money in their pockets, and I can tell you there’s a (large number) of young families with children here in our community.
“I’ve knocked on thousands of doors and I can tell you a lot of families have told me how much they’ve appreciated the changes that we’ve made, and are very concerned that the Liberals and NDP would (take those away).”
Although the UCCB paid out more money to families when it was boosted, the Conservative Party has been criticized for making those payments taxable – which means families may not see significantly more money in their pockets.
“These benefits help every single family, obviously there’s various ways that benefits and deductions are created,” Richards said. “(But) every single family in our community sees a benefit and has more money left in their pockets.”
The Liberal Party, which if elected would replace the UCCB with a new program called the Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB), would cancel income splitting and other tax breaks the party said “benefit the wealthy.”
“Right now, the UCCB is taxed and parents should be able to plan with a dollar actually being a dollar,” Banff-Airdrie Liberal Party candidate Marlo Raynolds said. “At the same time, we do not believe the wealthiest families need a cheque for their kids.”
The party said their $22 billion plan would enable them to send more money to families. However, the Harper government has questioned whether the plan is fully funded as released.
“Anyone that goes online and uses the calculator to compare the plans (will see) we’re going to see the vast majority of Canadian families will be better off with the plan we’re putting forward,” Raynolds said.
The Green Party has stated that if elected they would restore a 2005 plan to achieve universal access child care.
“We have an economy and a society that is built on two parents working. It’s pretty difficult for a family to have single income now in our economy,” Green Party candidate Mike MacDonald said. “We need to make sure that families have the option and the space to send their kids to a good quality child care (location), where the space is appropriate and the staff is well-trained.”
The Green Party would also look to cancel the UCCB and income splitting to pay for campaign promises.
“It’s an increasing of revenue in that way so that we can fund things that we do want to support, like early childhood. (That’s) something we should be putting more money in,” MacDonald said.
“In the long run, it’s going to create a healthier society.”
Election day is on Oct. 19. For information on voting sites, visit elections.ca
