Investments in child care long overdue

It has been more than a year since the Stefanson government joined all other Canadian provinces in signing the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the federal government to reduce child-care fees to $10 a day by 2025-26. As part of this agreement, the Stefanson government pledged a 50 per cent reduction in average parent fees by the end of 2022. While people in every other province have seen its child care fees go down as a result of their agreements, Manitoba is the only province where child-care fees have not been reduced at all.

Parents in Burrows and across Manitoba would significantly benefit from affordable child care, but the Progressive Conservatives have failed to make it a priority and have completely botched the rollout of this agreement. Rather than follow the lead of other provinces by reducing parent fees, the PCs instead placed the onus on Manitoba families to apply for a child care subsidy program. This approach has resulted in some well-off families receiving the subsidy while many lower-income Manitobans are unaware of its existence. It has also resulted in child-care facilities sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars they cannot disburse.

While parents are struggling to keep up with the increasingly high cost of living, it’s clear that now more than ever the PCs should take action to reduce child-care fees. The PCs child-care approach has left thousands of dollars on the table and made Manitoba parents miss out on savings. Major cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Regina have seen their child-care fees reduced by nearly half. It is time for Manitoba to join them by reducing child-care fees.

Rather than working to make life more affordable for Manitoba families, the PC government continues to demonstrate that it is not prioritizing the best interests of everyday Manitoba families. While the PCs continue to break their promises on child care, the Manitoba NDP will continue to hold them accountable and fight for the best interests of everyday Manitoba families.

If you would like to air your concerns about the affordability of child care in Manitoba or any other issue of concern, do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 204-415-7621 or email at diljeet.brar@yourmanitoba.ca. Our constituency office is located on 3-350 Keewatin Street.

Diljeet Brar
Burrows constituency report

Diljeet Brar is the NDP MLA for Burrows.

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