Affordable child care meaningless for families unable to find space

Opinion

When the federal Liberals rolled out their $10-a-day child-care care plan a few years ago, it was billed as transformational.

Ottawa promised billions to help provinces expand spaces, train more staff and make child care affordable for families that have long struggled with one of the biggest financial burdens of raising kids.

Manitoba, like other provinces, eagerly signed on. The province was quick to boast about the influx of federal cash and how Manitoba parents would soon enjoy both affordability and accessibility. Fast-forward to today, though, and it’s clear the program has not met expectations.

Yes, Manitoba has hit the affordability side of the deal — parents lucky enough to have a licensed child-care space are now paying dramatically less.

But on the supply side? Very little has been accomplished. The province has created few new spots, despite receiving federal funding that was supposed to deliver thousands. Families are still languishing on wait lists for months — in some cases years — unable to find a place for their child.

That’s not what Manitobans were promised.

The whole point of a national child-care plan wasn’t just to reduce fees for the fortunate few already in the system. It was supposed to open doors for families currently shut out. Yet, despite all the federal-provincial announcements and photo ops, the actual delivery of spaces has been almost non-existent.

The biggest losers here are parents — particularly women — who want to return to work but can’t because they are unable to secure child care. That’s not only devastating for their household finances, but it also undermines Manitoba’s economy.

Child care was supposed to be part of the solution: helping parents, especially mothers, re-enter the workforce. Instead, we’re stuck in the same bottleneck as before, only now taxpayers are footing the bill for a program that doesn’t deliver what was advertised.

The Kinew government has tried to assure parents that new spaces are on the way. But we’ve heard those promises before. The previous Progressive Conservative government made them, too. And yet, here we are, years later, with little to show for it. The reality is neither level of government has presented a concrete plan on how exactly they’re going to deliver these spots. There’s lots of talk about “partnerships” with child-care centres, new capital projects and workforce training. But where are the results? Where are the actual new spaces families can apply for right now?

The truth is creating new spots is a lot harder than it sounds. It’s not just about throwing money at the problem. Child-care centres need qualified early childhood educators, and Manitoba has been facing shortages for years. The wages for those workers are low compared to other fields, and the job is demanding. Without a serious plan to recruit and retain staff, no amount of federal funding will magically create spots.

Then there’s the issue of infrastructure. Building or expanding centres takes time, money, and co-ordination. Governments love to make announcements about future projects, but parents need spaces today, not years down the road. For a family struggling to make ends meet, being told that “help is coming” sometime in the future doesn’t pay the bills or allow a parent to return to work.

Politicians have every incentive to oversell these programs — and little accountability when they fail to deliver. Ottawa got the headlines when it announced a historic child-care deal. The province basked in the glow of making life more affordable for families. But now that the rubber is supposed to hit the road on expanding spaces, the silence is deafening.

So, what’s the solution? First, the province needs to level with Manitobans about the scale of the challenge. Stop the spin, stop the vague promises and be honest: Manitoba doesn’t currently have the workforce or infrastructure to meet the targets set out in the federal deal. That acknowledgment would be a start.

Second, governments need to get serious about workforce development. That means boosting wages for early childhood educators to attract more people into the field and keep them there. It also means providing proper training programs and incentives for workers to stay in Manitoba rather than head elsewhere for better pay.

Third, there needs to be a clear, transparent plan for how many spaces will be created, where they will be located, and when they will be available. Parents deserve a timeline they can actually plan around instead of endless political platitudes.

The stakes are high. Without access to child care, families suffer financially, women’s career prospects are stunted and Manitoba’s economy loses out on badly needed workers.

It’s not enough for governments to pat themselves on the back for delivering $10-a-day child care to the lucky few already in the system. The real test of this program will be whether it expands access to everyone who needs it. On that front, both Ottawa and Manitoba are failing.

For now, the $10-a-day program is exactly what it looks like: more sizzle than steak.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca