VICTORIA, BC: A new national report confirms what B.C. families already know: the NDP’s promise of $10-a-day child care is an unattainable fantasy, and the government still refuses to face reality. British Columbia is among five provinces set to miss the 2026 target. In cities like Richmond and Surrey, fees remain nearly four times higher than promised.
“This is exactly what we’ve been warning about,” said Reann Gasper, MLA for Abbotsford-Mission and Critic for Child Care, and Children and Youth with Support Needs. “The Minister told us we were wrong to question her transparency, but now we’re looking at broken promises and rising fees.
On April 9, the Minister told media B.C. was “on track to meet our $10-a-day targets of 20,000 spaces by next spring.” But according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, less than 15% of spaces are at the promised rate, and many parents are still paying $30 to $46 a day.
The Minister claimed they had signed a new six-year deal with the federal government to keep this initiative going. But serious questions remain about whether the province is on track to deliver on its commitments.
“If everything was supposedly on track three months ago, how did we end up here? What changed?” Gasper said. “Either the Minister was misleading British Columbians, or she didn’t know where her own file stood.”
“The cost of child care is keeping parents, especially mothers, out of the workforce,” said Gasper. “We need transparency, action, and a plan that actually delivers
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Media Contact:
Francesca Guetchev, Communications Officer
Francesca.Guetchev@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948
