Budget: Child Care Assistance Omission - Question Period
MS. CLAUDIA CHENDER « » : Mr. Speaker, this question is for the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. When it comes to early childhood education, I absolutely support significant investment in a high-quality universal child care system. It's one of the priorities we over here were all very proud to campaign on.
The minister has frequently quoted the statistic that only 25 per cent of children in Nova Scotia utilize or have access to regulated child care programs. That's 25 per cent of all children from birth to age five. When we asked this morning, the department wasn't sure how many four-year-olds, specifically, were without access to child care.
Does the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development find it acceptable that this budget offers nothing to those families struggling to find care for children from infancy to age three?
HON. ZACH CHURCHILL « » : Mr. Speaker, the number we had provided was for all preschool-age children who can access child care supports in the province. The capacity for that is 25 per cent of all those children. When you extrapolate the numbers, four-year-olds in full-time care, the number is reduced to 19 per cent, and when you include part-time care, that number is still consistent with 25 per cent. That is the capacity issue that this government is committed to dealing with so that all children in our province have access to these programs, which we know will have a life-changing effect on many of them.
MS. CHENDER « » : Just for clarification, only four-year-olds will have access to these programs. There are thousands of children in this province who are under four years old. There are thousands of parents whose child care needs don't end at 2:30 p.m. - myself included, way after 2:30 p.m. There are many parents who have their names on wait-lists for infant care before their children are born. The status quo is unacceptable, as we've all realized.
Is the minister satisfied with a budget that continues down the path of a lack of appropriate regulated child care spaces and a patchwork of grants?
MR. CHURCHILL « » : We recognize the capacity issue in the regulated child care sector. We have a vested interest in their success, as not-for-profits and as businesses. We invest in that sector to the tune of $255 million per year.
Part of our negotiations with the federal government and the dollars that we plan to receive from them is going to be to increase capacity in that sector. We want all of our children, of all ages of preschool, to have access to the best early child care possible in this province. Pre-Primary is absolutely key to that.
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