No new investment in child care leaves women out of Canada’s economic plan
The federal government’s spring economic update has heightened fears that Prime Minister Carney’s plan to “Build Canada Strong for All” will exclude women by failing to invest sufficiently in the expansion and strengthening of Canada’s child care program, says Child Care Now, Canada’s national child care advocacy association.
“It is well-established that when families can’t find affordable and reliable child care, mothers are forced out of the paid labour force or significantly reduce their work hours. This puts a brake on the economy, and undermines income security,” said Morna Ballantyne, Child Care Now Executive Director.
Ballantyne said that the spring economic update should have signalled a significant further investment in the child care system to increase the number of low-fee programs, increase access for the tens of thousands of families now left out, and offset the growing cost of operating quality not-for-profit child care.
“Instead of investing in child care, the economic update says the federal Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund will sunset at the end of this fiscal year, and that there will be no new money for child care transfers to the provinces and territories to continue to expand and strengthen child care,” Ballantyne said.
Child Care Now says the economic update suggests the Carney government does not recognize that a properly funded universal child care system is an essential pillar for every other economic initiative in its plan. Federal investments in child care make it possible to yield the important financial returns the government is promising, including, for example, through its new initiative to expand the skilled trades workforce in support of major national construction projects.
To explain the economic significance of child care investments, Ballantyne points to recently released analysis of the long-term impact of Quebec’s funded child care system by economists Michael Baker, Johnathan Gruber and Kevin Milligan. The study shows that mothers who participated had much higher life-long incomes, generating significant tax contributions to governments and relying less on other publicly subsidized programs. The authors calculate that these tangible benefits mean that the Quebec program pays for itself.
Child Care Now also warns that the federal government’s decision not to include a significant increase in child care transfer payments to the provinces and territories in the update will likely lead them to stall growth of the system and undermine efforts to improve program quality. Some may even go as far as withdrawing from the $10 a Day Canada-wide child care program.
“The federal government’s child care funding agreements with Ontario and Alberta expire in less than a year and their renewal is going to be very difficult if federal contributions are not adjusted in line with the real costs of the full program,” said Ballantyne.
Child Care Now will continue its campaign to convince the federal government to keep its child care promise by reinstating and improving the federal government’s child care infrastructure fund and increasing federal transfer payments in the fall budget.