Although the introduction of the Canada-wide childcare plan has been beneficial to Canadian families overall, the policy has not addressed all the childcare-related challenges in the country. This section aims to highlight the areas where the Canada-wide plan has fallen short, in order to promote further policy improvements.
The national childcare program's benefits have not been evenly distributed, specifically for mothers working in the trades. Hours within the trades do not follow the traditional 9-5 schedule, so even under the Canada-wide plan, mothers in these fields struggle to find childcare that accommodates their working hours. Since 2017, there has been a 227 percent rise in female apprentice registrations in construction alone. Therefore, rectifying these gaps becomes even more critical as more women integrate into these fields.
The Canada-wide childcare plan’s focus on improving and expanding childcare services has largely overlooked the critical need to address workforce inequities for early childhood educators (ECEs). Specifically, provincial governments have used funding to bring down parent fees and build new childcare spaces without providing better wages, benefits, and pensions for ECEs. As a result, there is now a shortage of childcare workers within many provinces as there is little attraction to come work or remain working in the sector. For example, in 2023, many daycares were running at half capacity, meaning that usable spaces were sitting empty due to staffing problems. Until this shortage is rectified, many of the approximately 250,000 $10-a-day childcare spaces created by the Canada-wide plan will remain unusable, as there will not be enough workers to run them.
The poor working conditions of childcare workers correlate to childcare services being provided predominantly by women. In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that 96% of early childhood educators & assistants, and home childcare providers were women. Caring for children as an occupation is undervalued and underpaid in society because society assumes women naturally enjoy this work and consequently will accept these jobs with low pay.
Video: Lack of early childhood educators threatens $10-per-day child-care plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErnltUKHXo8
The term daycare deserts refers to areas that lack adequate access to childcare. As daycare has become more affordable through the national childcare plan, demand for childcare has grown. This increase in demand has caused waitlists for childcare, particularly for children younger than kindergarten age, to become extremely long. In some areas, the demand is so high that parents are putting their children on waitlists as soon as they become pregnant as often three children per postal code area are competing for a single spot. Daycare deserts are largely correlated to the shortage of ECE workers as well as an inadequate amount of $10-a-day daycare spaces to keep up with growing demand.
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In BC, 25% of families with annual household incomes under $50,000 were waitlisted for more than two years before getting a spot.
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Video: Some Canadian provinces have daycare deserts, study finds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABD626CdWUw
In provinces and cities where childcare fees have historically been disproportionately high (e.g., B.C., Alberta and Ontario), achieving $10-a-day daycare has been much more challenging. Although costs have still decreased in these areas, more funding may need to be injected into these provinces/cities to ensure that all families receive the same policy benefits, regardless of where they reside in the country.