New poll says residents of B.C. strongly support the $10-a-day childcare program

A new poll suggests that residents of B.C. strongly support the $10-a-day child care program.

It has been six years since the launch of the $10-a-day childcare program and a recent poll conducted by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC in collaboration with Research Co., says that nearly 80 per cent of BC residents say it’s important for the government to continue the commitments, and 76 per cent say the implementation should move faster.

Sharon Gregson, with the Coalition of Child Care Advocates and provincial spokesperson for the program, says she is not surprised that the program is popular.

She says more people have been impacted by the program that is making life more affordable.

“Right now only 9 per cent of the licensed childcare in B.C. is operating as a $10-a-day site, but 20 per cent of all British Columbians, so one in five, say that they’ve been personally touched by $10-a-day,” she said. “10-a-day is having real-world impacts for families on the ground.”

Gregson says although there are more $10-a-day childcare in the community, the expansion is not happening fast enough.

“84 per cent of families with young children report that long waiting lists for childcare are a problem,” she said. “43 per cent of families with young children reported they had to wait more than six months.”

The report says that’s not surprising because “there are only enough licensed childcare spaced for 23 per cent of young children in B.C.”

Along with access to $10-a-day childcare feedback, the poll also says 75 per cent of people agree that flexible childcare options are needed, because more parents work outside of Monday to Friday 9 a.m to 5 p.m.

Gregson says the coalition is making recommendations to governments about those flexible hours.

“People do shift work, they need more part-time care, more flexible care,” she said. “For people who work in the trades, we know that childcare needs to start earlier in the morning when job sites open.”

She gave examples of healthcare and emergency service workers, who do longer shifts and four days on and four days off.

“We need a system that is built to accommodate the real world workforce and not just Monday to Friday, nine to five,” Gregson said.

In the findings of the poll, some recommendations that were supported strongly by residents include the following:

• 84 per cent agreed Early Childhood Educators should earn fair wages
• 81 per cent agree elementary schools should provide before and after-school care
• 75 per cent agree Indigenous children should have access to culturally safe childcare
• 72 per cent agree child care should be publicly available like elementary schools
• 71 per cent agree B.C. cannot create and staff more childcare programs without fair compensation for early educators
• 67 per cent agree that the government should ensure childcare programs are non-profit

Finally, the poll says 90 per cent of young people (aged 18-34) think it’s important to continue the $10-a-day program and 85 per cent agree that having children now costs more than it did 40 years ago.

-With files from Srushti Gangdev.