EXCERPTS
More details on the expansion of Alberta’s $25-a-day child care pilot program will be unveiled in Edmonton Wednesday morning.
Earlier this month, the federal and provincial governments announced $136 million in additional funding would go towards launching 78 additional Early Learn and Child Care (ELCC) Centres across the province.
Premier Rachel Notley and Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee are scheduled to unveil details at NorQuest College’s newly opened 1000 Women Child Care Centre, which helps remove barriers for both community members and students focusing on their studies.
In 2016, the province announced it was starting a $10-million, three-year pilot project that would provide child care for a maximum of $25 a day for children aged zero to six. Phase 1 saw subsidized child care introduced at 22 centres across Alberta.
Last year, Larivee said she hopes Alberta will eventually provide universal child care.
A recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives looked at daycare fees across the country.
Calgary ranked fifth at an average of $1,250 a month for infant care compared with Toronto, where the cost was $1,758, Mississauga, Ont., at $1,452, Vancouver at $1,360 and Kitchener, Ont., at $1,325.
The cheapest child care was $168 a month in Montreal, as Quebec provides a significant amount of public funding.
The Alberta plan follows an NDP campaign promise in the 2015 election to create broad-based $25-a-day care.
With files from Slav Kornik, Global News, and The Canadian Press
-reprinted from Global News