NDP MLA Doug Routley says more $10-a-Day child care spaces coming to Nanaimo and North Cowichan
COWICHAN VALLEY – New Democrat MLA Doug Routley says families in Nanaimo and North Cowichan will save money on child care as local child care sites become $10-a-Day ChildCareBC sites where fees are capped at a maximum of $200 a month per child.
“Adding more affordable childcare spaces and making sure they are accessible in our community will help families as they face a higher cost of living,” said Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan. “I look forward to seeing the positive impact these new spaces have for children and families in Nanaimo and across B.C., and thank the childcare providers who are our key partners in this work.”
The following child care sites in Nanaimo and North Cowichan are becoming $10-a-Day ChildCareBC sites, which means a total of 167 child care spaces will have fees dramatically reduced for parents:
- Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island – Ladysmith Child and Family Centre
- Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island – Chase River Club
- Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island – Fifth Street Daycare
Spaces in the $10-a-Day ChildCareBC program reduce the average cost of child care from $1,000 a month at participating facilities (for full-time, centre-based infant care) to $200 a month, saving families approximately $800 a month per child on average. The newly approved $10-a-day spaces are being offered at 18 child care centres throughout British Columbia and include 304 spaces for infants and toddlers, 552 spaces for children two and a half years old to kindergarten age, 385 spaces for school-age children and 132 preschool spaces. These additional spaces bring the total number of $10-a-Day spaces in B.C. to 8,190.
In addition to these spaces, the Province, with federal funding support, is helping parents with the cost of child care at centres that are not part of the $10-a-day program through child care fee reductions of up to $550 more per month per child. These savings, which kick in on December 1st, are in addition to the $350 per month per child that families have been saving through the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative since 2018, and approximately 69,000 families will benefit.
For more information on the $10-a-Day ChildCareBC sites and spaces: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare10aDaysites