👶💰🍁 Day Care fo’ Less Den $10: How Canada Stay Makin’ It Easy fo’ Da Parents
Canada, dem guys stay doing one big kine thing fo’ all da hard working parents out dea, reducing da cost of day care fees to just about 10 Canadian bucks a day, das like $7.60 US! Dis stay bringing one sigh of relief fo’ plenty families, even wit da new challenges of surge in demand.
Susana Ibarra, she stay getting ready fo’ go back work afta maternity leave, but she had one big kine problem: where she going leave her son an’ how she going afford dat. 🏢👶💼
Afta trying out plenty day cares an’ adding her boy on top waitlists, she finally got one spot. An’ da sweet part, da fee stay cheap, only 600 Canadian dollars, or $450, every month. 🎉💵👍
Dis low cost, it comes from one ambitious day care plan spreading all ova Canada. Da plan stay trying fo’ cut da fees an’ supporters believe dis going help solve one of da biggest problems facing working parents. 🇨🇦👨👩👧👦💰
Perfect timing for Ms. Ibarra, who wen’ back work as a paralegal in Mississauga, one suburb of Toronto, in January. She heard plenty stories of co-workers who quit working afta they had keiki cause da child care cost too much. 👩💼👶💔
Da national day care plan wen’ start two years ago by da government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Da goal stay push down child care cost so dat by 2026, tens of thousands of day care spots goin’ be available at daily fees of 10 Canadian dollars, or about 200 dollars a month, or less. 👨💼💡👏
Compared to big city areas like Toronto or Vancouver, day care can cost 1,200 Canadian dollars or more every month, das like 60 bucks a day. 🏙️👶💸
Da federal child care program, as da government wen’ say, stay “a transformative project on a scale with the work of previous generations of Canadians, who built a public school system and public health care”. 🇨🇦🏫🏥
Working with da provinces, who stay responsible fo’ delivering education and child care services, da federal government stay planning fo’ spend up to 30 billion Canadian dollars to create a total of 250,000 new low-cost child care spaces, mostly in nonprofit or public day care centers and family-based providers. 🗺️👨👩👧👦💰
Child care providers stay using government money fo’ reduce their fees over time until they reach da 10 Canadian dollars a day threshold. 👶💰⏳
Day care centers in five of Canada’s 13 less populated provinces and territories already wen’ lower their fees to dat level, while da remaining provinces, including Ontario, have cut their fees by half on da road to reaching 10 dollars per day. 🗺️💵✂️
So far, about 52,000 reduced-cost child care slots have been created across da country under da program. 👨👩👧👦💰🇨🇦
“This is part of our plan to make life more affordable for the middle class and for people working hard to join it,” Mr. Trudeau said in March while announcing da program’s expansion in Manitoba. 🗣️💼👏
Although da program get plenty praise, it also get growing pains. More people like get da discounted child care slots than get enough supply, an’ providers stay dealing with not enough workers. 👏👶📈
Making child care more affordable allows plenty working parents, especially women, not to have to choose between their careers or raising their children, child care advocates and researchers said. Studies have also shown that low-cost child care is one good thing for da economy because it increases the work force participation of women. 👩💼👩👦💰
“Not only is this really good for our economy, not only is this really good for gender equality and for women in the work force, but it’s also really good for setting up our kids for success,” said Karina Gould, Canada’s minister of families, children and social development. 👩💼👩👧👍
One Unicef report two years ago that measured maternity leave and day care costs, among other factors, showed that nine of the top 10 nations were in Europe, led by Luxembourg. (Canada ranked 22nd, while the United States, which spends far less on child care than most other wealthy nations, was 40th.) 🌍👶💰
But fo’ plenty families, da low-cost day care program has been one welcome relief. 👨👩👧👦💰👏
Ms. Ibarra, whose partner works as a delivery driver, had been ready to spend as much as 1,300 Canadian dollars, or $970, a month for her 18-month-old son, Ethan, the regular fees at the day care where he is enrolled. Paying around 600 dollars a month, she said, “made going back to work a very easy choice” and has allowed her to build up her savings. 👩💼🚚👶
Roopal Khandelwal moved from Delhi to Toronto in February when her husband got a new position at his company. They have a 2-year-old son, Avik, and are expecting a second child in August. Finding a discounted day care slot for Avik means that Ms. Khandelwal, 32, a digital marketing specialist, can return to work. 👨💼✈️👶
“I do have a big break of two years in my résumé,” Ms. Khandelwal said. “I am looking forward to giving a fresh start to my career.” 👩💼👨👩👦🔜
NOW IN ENGLISH
👶💰🍁 Day Care for Less Than $10: How Canada Is Making It Easier for Parents
Canada has taken a substantial step to alleviate the burden on hardworking parents by reducing day care fees to approximately 10 Canadian dollars a day, equivalent to about $7.60 US. This has brought relief to many families, despite new challenges arising from a surge in demand.
Susana Ibarra was preparing to return to work after maternity leave, but she faced a major problem: where to leave her son and how to afford it. 🏢👶💼
After exploring various day care options and placing her child on numerous waitlists, she finally secured a spot. And the best part – the fee is low, only 600 Canadian dollars, or $450, per month. 🎉💵👍
This low cost results from an ambitious day care plan unfolding across Canada. The plan aims to reduce fees, and supporters believe this will help to solve one of the most significant issues facing working parents. 🇨🇦👨👩👧👦💰
This came at the perfect timing for Ms. Ibarra, who returned to her job as a paralegal in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, in January. She heard numerous stories of colleagues who quit working after having children because the cost of child care was too high. 👩💼👶💔
The national day care plan was launched two years ago by the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The goal is to lower child care costs so that by 2026, tens of thousands of day care spots will be available at daily fees of 10 Canadian dollars, or about 200 dollars a month, or less. 👨💼💡👏
Compared to larger city areas like Toronto or Vancouver, day care can cost 1,200 Canadian dollars or more each month, amounting to about 60 dollars a day. 🏙️👶💸
The federal child care program, as the government states, is “a transformative project on a scale with the work of previous generations of Canadians, who built a public school system and public health care”. 🇨🇦🏫🏥
In collaboration with the provinces, who are responsible for delivering education and child care services, the federal government plans to spend up to 30 billion Canadian dollars to create a total of 250,000 new low-cost child care spaces, primarily in nonprofit or public day care centers and family-based providers. 🗺️👨👩👧👦💰
Child care providers are using government funds to reduce their fees over time until they reach the 10 Canadian dollars a day threshold. 👶💰⏳
Day care centers in five of Canada’s 13 less populated provinces and territories have already lowered their fees to this level, while the remaining provinces, including Ontario, have cut their fees by half on the journey to reaching 10 dollars per day. 🗺️💵✂️
So far, about 52,000 reduced-cost child care slots have been created across the country under this program. 👨👩👧👦💰🇨🇦
“This is part of our plan to make life more affordable for the middle class and for people working hard to join it,” Mr. Trudeau said in March while announcing the program’s expansion in Manitoba. 🗣️💼👏
While the program has received significant praise, it has also experienced growing pains. Demand for the discounted child care slots exceeds supply, and providers are dealing with staff shortages. 👏👶📈
Making child care more affordable allows many working parents, especially women, to avoid choosing between their careers and raising their children, according to child care advocates and researchers. Studies have also shown that low-cost child care benefits the economy by increasing workforce participation among women. 👩💼👩👦💰
“Not only is this really good for our economy, not only is this really good for gender equality and for women in the workforce, but it’s also really good for setting up our kids for success,” said Karina Gould, Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development. 👩💼👩👧👍
A UNICEF report from two years ago, which measured factors such as maternity leave and day care costs, showed that nine of the top 10 nations were in Europe, led by Luxembourg. (Canada ranked 22nd, while the United States, which spends far less on child care than most other wealthy nations, was 40th.) 🌍👶💰
However, for many families, the low-cost day care program has been a welcome relief. 👨👩👧👦💰👏
Ms. Ibarra, whose partner works as a delivery driver, was prepared to spend as much as 1,300 Canadian dollars, or $970, a month for her 18-month-old son, Ethan, the regular fees at the day care where he is enrolled. Paying around 600 dollars a month, she said, “made going back to work a very easy choice” and has allowed her to build up her savings. 👩💼🚚👶
Roopal Khandelwal moved from Delhi to Toronto in February when her husband was transferred within his company. They have a 2-year-old son, Avik, and are expecting a second child in August. Finding a discounted day care slot for Avik means that Ms. Khandelwal, 32, a digital marketing specialist, can return to work. 👨💼✈️👶
“I do have a big break of two years in my résumé,” Ms. Khandelwal said. “I am looking forward to giving a fresh start to my career.” 👩💼👨👩👦🔜
