Child Poverty In Canada: Child Care

Daycare Dept: The lack of affordable daycare in British Columbia is a significant problem for many not just immigrants and a major contributor to the province s childhood poverty rates, according to child and youth advocacy coalition First Call. The coalition, which is made up of more than 90 provincial and regional partners, released a report Wednesday fingering B.C. as having the second-highest rate of child poverty in Canada, just behind Manitoba. The rate in 2010 was 14.3 per cent, amounting to about 119,000 poor children about the same as the total populations of New Westminster, Esquimalt, Cranbrook and Williams Lake combined, according to Globe and Mail. One recommendation in First Call s report is to implement universal child care, charging $10 a day for full-time care, $7 a day for part-time care and nothing for families that make less than $40,000. It is a system similar to one in Quebec, which costs $7 a day and the struggles were immediate: Ms. Zhen s husband didn t receive his visa for nearly two more years, leaving the immigrant to care for herself and her newborn. She depended on scant savings and assistance from friends she met at church. After her husband arrived, the couple had difficulty finding meaningful work. He got a job in security and, not being able to afford daycare, she took a temporary night-shift job stuffing flyers one of few available options for $9.50 an hour. While there are a myriad of contributing factors, the cost of child care is a major issue for families and often has ripple effects: If a parent can t secure it, it s unlikely he or she can sustain sufficient and meaningful employment. Average child-care costs in B.C. range from $9,000 to $14,000; a person working 37.5 hours per week at minimum wage earns about $20,000 a year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.