Our New Landmark National Childcare Program to Help Parents in Milton

By: Davin Caratao

The pandemic has made access to early learning and child care another issue critical to Milton families. Schools and child care centres closing last year have led many parents to leave their jobs or reduce their hours. Without access to child care, parents cannot help to regrow our economy and support their family’s livelihood. Adam spoke to Miltonians in a series of community round tables to discuss this problem, and the feedback is staggering. In talks with many local stakeholders, we have found that Miltonians want a national childcare strategy, and our government agrees. 

Why do we need an Early Learning and Childcare strategy?

Numerous scientific and economic studies have shown that investing in early learning and child care is good for workers, parents, and children. More jobs become available for workers, especially women, parents can reach their full economic potential, and we can raise the next generation of engaged and well prepared young learners.

Childcare programs prove beneficial to the economy at large. Over 240,000 new workers would join the labour force, growing our GDP in the long-term by at least 1.2 percent. Further, TD Economics pointed to a range of studies that have shown that every dollar spent on early childhood education returns $1.50 and $2.80 in return.

Parents will be liberated, especially women. Early learning and child care can be more expensive than university tuition in some cities, but without the decades to save up and prepare. In and around Milton, the monthly costs of child care average to over $1200—sometimes as costly as rent or mortgage. Our government will exponentially reduce childcare costs for every Canadian. Study after study has shown that a national childcare program is the most effective tool we can implement to break the gender wage gap. The gap has closed by 5 percentage points in twenty years, but such a program can finish the job and ensure an equal playing field for all. 

As for our children, numerous studies, including from the Hon. Margaret McCain Foundation, has shown that early learning is as important as any other level of schooling—it improves graduation rates, promotes lifelong well-being and learning, boosts lifetime earnings, and increases social equity.

Childcare can, and has worked. While Milton families might have to square away $1200 for childcare expenses monthly, Quebecers have been paying as low as $180 per month for about 20 years. The Government of Canada is following the example made by Quebec in 1997 when they passed the Québec Educational Childcare Act. That Act had clear economic benefits; while then, the women’s labour force participation rate in Quebec was 4 percentage points lower than the national average, today it is 4 percentage points higher. 

Our government believes that “the clear benefits of early learning and child care should not be a luxury for only the Canadian families that can afford it.” Too many families in communities like ours lack access to these benefits. We won’t stand by and leave so many children and families behind, or allow the injustice that these issues disproportionately impact low-income and racialized families. 

What will our Federal government do for Childcare?

Our Federal Government is committed to establishing a Canada-wide solution for childcare so that all working Canadians can achieve the standard of living we would expect in a country as great and prosperous as ours. I’m happy to say our federal government will work with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based system of quality child care. This system will build a legacy for future generations as strong as Canada’s public healthcare and education systems. 

Canadian families will see real results from this program.  Fees for child care will go down to an average of $10 per day within the next five years. Before the end of next year, 2022, your government plans to cut average fees for regulated early learning and child care in Milton by half. This bold new vision is supported by an equally bold budget. Budget 2021 proposes new investments totalling up to $30 billion over the next five years.

This is an ambitious program, which is why collaborating and consulting with community members has been so crucial. Whether from community organizations like the MCRC, or from moms and dads like you, Miltonians have voiced overwhelming support for this plan and have been calling us to action. These promises will be fulfilled. Our government has plans to help childcare workers, who are disproportionately low-income women, get better training so their hard work can be justly compensated. We will be transparent and accountable with the data we collect, so Canadians can see and know just how much the Early Learning and Childcare program is helping them. This program will touch so many peoples lives for the better, and it’ll be here before you know it.