BC Liberals Put Families who need Child Care Last

Well, she's all about "Families First" right? The new $55 a month "tax benefit" is offensive coming from someone who is a parent. A study last year reported one third of children starting kindergarten in Vancouver were not ready to start in terms of reaching expected learning and social milestones. This equals to a significant number of children starting out their school careers at a disadvantage. What is the government doing about that? Absolutely nothing. It is an issue that should concern all of us. BC needs all of our kids to be successful, educated and contributing members of society. Our future as a province depends on it.

B.C. premier's office mobbed over child-care costs

CBC News, Mar 9, 2013. 

About 200 protesters gathered outside Premier Christy Clark's constituency office in Vancouver's Point Grey neighbourhood Saturday afternoon to demand affordable public child care.

The rally, organized by the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, is urging the province adopt the "$10-a-day plan" for affordable child care, which would see parents pay $10 a day for daycare with the province picking up the rest of the tab.
Many of those at the rally hope to see B.C. create a program like Quebec's, which provides subsidized childcare for $7 a day.

In the recent budget, the government promised a $55-a-month child-care tax benefit for families with children under age six, starting in 2015.

Irene Lanzinger, speaking for the BC Federation of Labour, says the tax benefit does nothing to help families who already face expensive child-care fees and housing prices.

"Well, it's not enough, and it's not geared toward childcare," Lanziger said. "We need something that specifically increases childcare and makes child care more affordable so working families can do better."

With files from the CBC's Farrah Merali