EDMONTON - Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley has announced her party’s child care plan for the provincial election campaign. It pledges to cap costs for all existing child care spaces at a maximum of $25 per day, as well as add 13,000 new spaces, expanding on her government’s successful pilot project.
“The government’s pilot program has been extremely successful in making child care more affordable, more accessible, and higher quality in centres across the province,” said Joel French, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “The NDP’s election promise on child care builds on that success and would actually start to turn Alberta’s patchwork of child care operations into a child care system.”
French pointed out that challenges will remain even if the plan is implemented.
“While Alberta’s child care subsidy program, when combined with the $25-a-day fee cap, would mean care that is far more affordable for lower-income families, more will need to be done to make care more affordable for the entire population,” said French. “Investing in early childhood development, including skilled early childhood educators to staff our centres, is in the public interest. Care from highly-qualified and well-compensated professionals at the earliest ages can make a big difference in children growing up to be healthy adults and being able to fully contribute to the communities around them.”
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