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The Yukon Liberal Party wants to change the way the Yukon's day care system operates to make it more affordable to parents and better-paying for child care professionals.
'Our child system is in dire need of a cash infusion," Lesley Cabott, the Liberal candidate for Riverdale North in the Oct. 10 election, told a press conference this morning.
"We have heard over and over again from parents and day care operators that the system is running on empty. We are prepared to act."
The Liberals are promising to invest $2.8 million more into child care if elected to form government.
The Childcare Direct Operating Grant would be raised by approximately $600,000, or 25 per cent, said Cabott.
The subsidy provided to low-income families would also be changed to raise the eligibility threshold by about 25 per cent.
Currently, families with an income of approximately $30,000 and under are able to receive the subsidy. The Liberals want to raise that amount to provide aid to more families.
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The party also wants to increase the subsidy amount by $100 a month. It would mean each family would receive $5,019 annually per child in day care.
The combined amendments to the subsidy program would cost the territory about $2.1 million a year.
"I think that's something that's worth spending on our kids," said Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell.
A territorial Liberal government would also not tax the $1,200 per year provided to parents from the federal universal child care program introduced by the Conservatives.
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The final Liberal initiative related to child care is to establish an annual bonus for child care professionals as an encouragement to advance their levels of certification.
Based on their level of training, child care workers would receive $1,000, $500 or $200 in bonuses per year.
The new program is estimated to cost approximately $100,000 per year.
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The Yukon Party raised investment in child care by 30 per cent during its mandate.
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- reprinted from the Whitehorse Daily Star