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Changes to the territory's child care subsidy will help low-income families, but the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition's co-chair would ideally like to see a more universal system, similar to what's in place in Quebec.
The Yukon subsidy provides funding for families with children needing child care.
Among the changes announced for Dec. 1, the maximum net income level for subsidy eligibility will rise from $32,000 to $41,000 annually, while the subsidy provided to families will climb as well.
While the subsidy rate will increase 25 per cent, Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said Tuesday families could see a boost of up to 70 per cent, depending on their circumstances.
"Certainly, that will help," coalition co-chair Ross Findlater said in an interview this morning, adding he supports anything that helps low-income people.
He noted though, a system similar to Quebec's, where parents pays $7 per day for child care, would go a long way to ensuring all parents have the opportunity for good, quality child care.
Among the changes in the Yukon, parents will be subsidized a maximum of $625 per month for infant care compared to the current rate of $500 per month. The subsidy for toddler care will jump from $450 to $565 per month.
Just how much of a subsidy parents with children in child care receive depends on numerous factors such as family size, the age of the children and so on.
A family, making an annual net income of $41,000, with two infants, a toddler and a school age child, would likely be eligible for the full subsidy.
A family with two infants and a net annual income of $41,000 would likely only get a partial subsidy because they would be paying less for child care, Health and Social Services spokeswoman Pat Living said today.
Meanwhile, a family making a net of $41,000 with one child in school and attending after-school daycare would likely not be eligible for the subsidy, she said.
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- reprinted from the Whitehorse Daily Star