EXCERPTS
Parents in B.C.’s small, rural and remote communities have unique challenges when it comes to finding child care, according to a survey conducted by the Union of B.C. Municipalities and child care advocates.
While lack of spaces and high prices are issues felt across the province, those outside urban areas have trouble finding more flexible child care, transportation can be difficult and there is an urgent shortage of qualified child care staff.
“This puts more of a fine point on what’s happening in small, rural and remote communities that needs to be layered on to the Child Care B.C. plan,” said Sharon Gregson, spokesperson for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C., which helped formulate and conduct the survey. “They had some very good ideas I expect government will listen to.”
In its February budget, the provincial government announced its billion-dollar Child Care B.C. plan, which includes the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative, cutting daycare costs by up to $350 per month per space, and the Affordable Child Care Benefit, which on Sept. 1 will replace the existing Child Care Subsidy for low-income families.
The survey was launched in May and asked local governments about their child-care needs. Staff and elected officials from 62 local governments responded. There were also six in-person interviews conducted in the Peace River/northeast region of B.C. in July.
“I know they have some of the same issues they have in larger centres, but we believe they do have unique challenges,” said Wendy Booth, president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities. “The goal of the report is really to add to the discussion on child care that’s been ongoing for a long time.”
The vast majority of survey respondents, 92 per cent, said it was difficult to find quality, affordable and accessible child care.
Most (53 per cent) said the biggest challenge is the availability of spaces and providers in communities — in some communities there are significant wait lists and in others there is no licensed child care at all.
A lack of qualified staff is the second biggest challenge, according to 15 per cent of respondents, who noted that wages for early childhood educators are low.
Those in the Peace River communities told surveyors that child-care operators compete for workers with the resource sector (forestry, oil and gas and the Site C dam project), and wages for those in that sector, even in food service, are high compared to wages for early childhood educators.
“When people earn more money working at the Tim Hortons than working in childcare, it is very difficult to keep staff in child care,” Gregson said.
Another issue is the cost of child care, which was identified by 11 per cent of respondents. Gregson said this is a problem for people across the province, and that’s why the government’s cost-reduction measures are so important.
During the in-person interviews, those in the Peace River region also said that given the nature of the work in the area, there is a need for flexible child-care arrangements for shift workers.
Communities also identified part-time, before and after school care as additional challenges — particularly transportation, and especially during the winter.
“Transportation was a very big issue, particularly for school-aged care. That came up quite a lot,” said Gregson. “Not everybody lives in downtown Dawson Creek or downtown Fort St. John.”
Booth said the report has been delivered to the provincial government.
“The aim is hopefully the findings in the report will influence their programs and their policies on child care in small, rural and remote communities in future programming,” said Booth.