5 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

An award-winning daycare on the South Island will no longer be receiving a $10/day government subsidy, meaning a tenfold cost increase for families.

 

Lexie’s Little Bears Daycare was one of the original businesses in the province’s $10/day daycare pilot program seven years ago to receive funding to help parents pay less.

 

Since 2018, the monthly cost for a child over the age of three has been $200. As of June, that’s changing as the business will no longer receive the subsidy.

 

As of June, 50 to 70 families will be facing a tenfold increase from $200 to $2,135 per month.

 

“We’re really upset, disappointed, hurt. We are struggling. We don’t know where we’re going to go, what we’re going to do,” said Shannon Mills, who has one child at Lexie’s.

 

“That’s more than our current mortgage payment.”

 

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...arents-1247084/

 

“This is a private operator and they’re making a private business decision for the business,” said Beare.

 

Beare did acknowledge, however, that the subsidy contract has changed.

 

“What it is, is making sure all operators in the system, so early adopters and the ones signing on now, are all operating on a level playing field and are all operating under the same existing contract, which there had been multiple contracts before,” said Beare.

 

The exact changes to the contract remain unclear. CHEK News has asked the Ministry of Child Care for clarification.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the government can be a bit more transparent about this.  Presumably, to receive the subsidy, the daycare has to operate under a certain cost level, per child.  And this daycare has decided it cannot do that, with the subsidy amount.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 April 2025 - 05:57 PM.

[Matt R.]

Why not give the parents the option to pay the difference? If the province was giving the daycare $1800 a month per kid before, why not keep doing that and let the parents pick up the slack.

[Victoria Watcher]

Why not give the parents the option to pay the difference? If the province was giving the daycare $1800 a month per kid before, why not keep doing that and let the parents pick up the slack.

 

I thought about that too

 

But presumably if they allowed this, almost every daycare would raise rates.

 

Sort of like if you allowed every doctor to extra bill.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 April 2025 - 06:56 PM.

[LJ]

Why should the government look after your children?

 

You had them, you pay for them.

[Matt R.]

I thought about that too
 
But presumably if they allowed this, almost every daycare would raise rates.
 
Sort of like if you allowed every doctor to extra bill.

Or provided universal basic income.

[Victoria Watcher]

Stick a fork in it: B.C.’s $10-a-day universal child care promise is over.

 

Not officially, of course. The NDP won’t publicly declare a marquee plank from three election campaigns as dead in water.

 

But after eight years, and a freeze in last month’s provincial budget, even the biggest backers of the program are starting to move on to new ideas.

 

The Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC—a driving force behind the original $10-a-day proposal—tabled a new plan to the David Eby administration this month. Its main thrust: pivot to lean into the existing school system. That’s the only way to get out of the current rut, according to advocates. Barely 10 per cent of licensed child-care spaces are truly $10-a-day, and a universal system remains a pipe dream.

 

 

https://www.delta-op...-in-bc-12074987

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 31 March 2026 - 02:38 AM.