Advocate calls on Alberta to opt out of $10-a-day child care plan

The Alberta government’s announcement to withdraw from the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) has caught the attention of other industries that also want to opt out of their respective federal programs.

Earlier this week, Premier Danielle Smith wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the dental care plan. Smith said the CDCP “unnecessarily replicates” publicly funded dental coverage that is already available to many Albertans.

Similar concerns apply to the childcare industry, according to Krystal Churcher, chair of the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs.

“The federal government announced $10/day childcare, then went to the provinces and negotiated vague agreements,” she said in a statement.

“They are now dictating terms in behind-closed-doors, one-sided discussions, which is unacceptable.”

Churcher’s association has pushed the province to steer clear of the federal government’s $10 per day child care deal. The reduced costs for parents come from a $30 billion deal that would eventually cut childcare costs for families to $10 a day by 2025.

Churcher said operators aren’t getting enough funding to provide adequate programming. The lack of funding has also caused rolling closures with some on the verge of permanently shutting down, she said.

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“We absolutely think that having affordable childcare is critical for families all across Canada, but what we have learned and seen firsthand since this rolled out in Alberta three years ago is that it’s not working the way it is structured federally,” Churcher told Global News.

Churcher said operators, whom she believed were initially “coerced” into signing agreements “under duress,” are now facing the potential withholding of critical funding.

Every province and territory has signed on to the deal. In exchange for the federal money, provinces had to implement the federal vision, which also sought to increase wages for child-care workers.

Churcher’s association is urging the provincial government to rethink its approach, warning that the current strategy could lead to the collapse of high-quality childcare services in Alberta.

Matt Jones, Alberta’s minister of jobs, economy and trade, told Global News in a statement that the province is committed to building a sustainable child-care system where providers can deliver “high-quality, accessible, affordable and inclusive services for Alberta families.”

“Alberta’s government is currently working with child care providers and the federal government to ensure the agreement is meeting the needs of Alberta families and our mixed-market child care system,” he said.

Churcher believes there is still time for the provincial government to make changes.

“I really hope that our premier starts to champion for child-care the way that she has for other industries,” she said.

— with files from Tomasia DaSilva and Caley Gibson, Global News