Premier John Horgan headed to a photo op at a children’s playground at a Coquitlam daycare Wednesday to dispel fears that his NDP government’s new daycare fee-reduction initiative was falling flat because of lack of participation by skittish daycare providers or processing delays for operators who want to opt in.
After playing parachute games with kids at a daycare centre at Douglas College, Horgan announced the deadline is now April 20 for providers to sign up for the fee reduction.
“We’re going to have some growing pains,” Horgan told reporters, saying the goal is to get as many child care operators signed up as possible so more families benefit from fee reductions of between $60 and $350 a month, depending on the age of their children.
Some daycare providers have expressed concern about the government having more control over their business, such as restrictions on fee increases, while others are worried about delays in getting accepted to the program and paperwork.
Minister of State for Childcare Katrina Chen said her staff is making an effort to address concerns, including dealing with specific circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
So far, 18,000 children have been signed up to benefit from the program but that’s just a fraction of the 50,000 families the government aims to support with the initiative.
One local daycare operator attended the press conference hoping to hear more specifics about the program.
Nasim Khatibi, who owns Rocky Point Montessori and Heritage Mountain Daycare in Port Moody, said she is worried the new program will require her to maintain fees without taking into account unexpected costs, leaving her struggling to keep her daycares open.
Participating daycares do get a 10% top-up to cover inflation but Khatibi said that money amounts to just $200 and wouldn’t go very far if her rent were increased, for example.
She told The Tri-City News she is torn between her lack of comfort over the government making decisions about her business and her desire to provide relief to parents.
“They keep promising they will allow ]increases for extraordinary circumstances]… I want that in writing as part of my contract.”
After meeting with the minister at Wednesday’s press conference, Khatibi said she’s more optimistic but is still waiting for more details before opting in.
“I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful. I want this funding for my parents, I really do.”
