BC NDP promises $500M for new child care spaces, mental health counsellors, EAs in education plan

The BC NDP unveiled some extra details about its plan for education on Monday.

Leader David Eby says that if elected, the New Democratic Party will spend $500 million over the next two years to create new child care spaces.

Eby explains to increase child care spaces, which he says will be in the “thousands,” they’ll expand an already-in-place pilot program that puts child care into school spaces and utilizes education assistants.

“One of the realities of expanding child care is it can be expensive to open new spaces and to hire new staff, and that can make it slow to add additional space. But we have a pilot program in place in four school boards that shows that we can use existing facilities and existing staff, educational assistants, to deliver before and after school care for busy parents,” he explained on Monday.

“The results that we’re seeing from communities like Campbell River, where this has been deployed, are remarkable. So, the combination of giving educational assistants more hours to deliver this care means they can work full time in the kind of jobs that they want to have, but it also means for parents, that they get the care for their kids that they need.”

Eby also says the NDP would ensure there is an Educational Assistant in every K-to-Grade 3 classroom in the province to help students who have extra needs, and will equip all schools with a mental health counsellor.

“We’re hearing from teachers, we’re hearing from parents, the need for kids to have more support in schools,” he explained.

“Kids who need intensive supports can absorb the entirety of a teacher’s time, leaving the rest of the class to fend for themselves. Those kids that need that extra attention, they need that to be able to succeed, but if they’re not getting the support that they need, then they’re not going to be successful.”

Eby explains that EAs in classes can provide support to both teachers and students, “so they can deliver the kind of education for the entire class that they want to deliver.”

Eby says with mental health counsellors in all public schools, students will get the professional support “they need to be successful, and that teachers and principals can focus on what they need to do ensure quality education in our schools.”