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National daycare program too late for many parents already feeling the pinch

'Sadly for me, I've needed help the last three years and now more than ever,' says Barrie mother of two
2021-04-19 Child care
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Monday’s federal budget promise of $30 billion over the next five years  and $8.3 billion ongoing for early learning and child-care and Indigenous early learning and child care  has mothers around the city celebrating.

But for some, it comes too late.

It would also aim to see an average drop in fees next year by 50 per cent for preschooler daycare spaces and an average of $10-a-day care by 2026.

Heather Braiden is a mom of two boys  ages five and two who says while she's thrilled with what the funding will mean for other families down the road. Unfortunately for her, it won't help her now. 

“Sadly for me, I've needed help the last three years and now more than ever. Having two boys in daycare within a pandemic has brought me to a crossroads,” she told BarrieToday.

Braiden's hours at her job have been cut significantly, as have her number of shifts.

“I can’t afford full-time care, nor can I afford the part-time rate from most daycares based on my tiny retail shifts," she said. "Fifty dollars a day per child is so far out of reach for me at this point that I will have no choice but to stay home. But I still have bills to pay, so how does a parent manage that?”

The general lack of available and affordable child care has created so much stress and uncertainty for Braiden, her family and her job. Add in a global pandemic to the mix and it's become nearly untenable.

“I went from being one the main go-to staff for dependability to feeling like an afterthought and even a burden to my employer,” she said.

Given she will be losing her current daycare provider next month, because the caregiver is moving, Braiden says she will be forced to stay home and risk increasing her already high amount of debt just for her family to be able to live day-to-day.

“It's a very concerning time for us and has rocked what little self-esteem I have left after a terrible year. This proposed budget is amazing, life changing for so many families and has been needed for so long but I can't help but be sad that it's not going to be able to assist me right now.”

The funding came as welcome news to Jax Page, who said this would definitely contribute in the decision making of having a third child. "Also, as a working mom, this makes going back to work feasible," Page said. 

Barrie-Innisfil MP John Brassard told BarrieToday there's no question that child care coming out of this pandemic will help with economic recovery, but noted the "devil is in the details."

“The question is how that child care is going to look. In the case (of what was) proposed (Monday), it’s going to require buy in from provinces,” he said. “(The Liberals) have proposed a national child-care program several times in the past, and each time have failed to implement it.

"Rightly, it could cause Canadians to be cynical…  so it will be interesting to see how it plays out," the Conservative MP added. 

While child care is definitely going to be a big issue post-pandemic, Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Doug Shipley believes it’s being used as an election platform issue. 

“The Liberals have been bringing this up for decades… and they’ve never delivered on it. This promise will probably be no different," he said. "They’ve put this out as an anticipated campaign promise and they’ve got people excited over it. It has to be partnered up with the provinces, which they haven’t even started negotiating with.

"They’re trying, in my opinion, to buy off an election and we will see if people fall for this act or not," Shipley added. 

Monday’s budget focused on child care came as good news to Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, who noted Barrie is one of the cities in the country with the youngest average age.

“That’s really driven by having more kids as a percentage of our population," he said. "Child care is a huge issue (and) anybody who has tried to get child care, or has it now, understands the cost and difficulty of finding it. That is a huge step forward for the country, and a big step forward for communities like ours that have such a large number of young families.”