EXCERPTS
Too many families across Canada lack access to affordable, inclusive, and high-quality child care. That is why the Government of Canada has laid out a plan to provide Canadian parents with, on average, $10‑a‑day child care spaces for children under six years old. This plan will make life more affordable for families, create new jobs, get parents – especially women – back into the workforce, and grow the middle class, while giving every child a real and fair chance at success.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, virtually joined the Premier of Nova Scotia, Tim Houston, today to announce that child care fees for families in Nova Scotia will be reduced by 25 per cent on average, saving them on average $200 per month. The fee decrease will begin as of April 1, 2022, and be retroactive to January 1, 2022. This will apply to parents with children up to six years old in regulated child care spaces that are part of the Canada‑wide early learning and child care system. Today’s announcement is an initial step in reducing child care fees for Nova Scotian families by 50 per cent by the end of 2022, and achieving an average of $10‑a‑day care by 2025-26.
The Prime Minister and Premier also announced today that a minimum of 1,500 new regulated child care spaces will be available to Nova Scotia families beginning this fall. These spaces are part of the 9,500 new regulated child care spaces that the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia announced in July 2021.
The time for a Canada-wide early learning and child care system is now. The Government of Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners across the country to ensure that all families have access to affordable, inclusive, and high-quality early learning and child care no matter where they live.