The national $10-a-day child care program favours some care providers over others, effectively discriminating against some families and their choices, says the think tank Cardus.
Cardus published a policy brief Jan. 18 calling on Alberta to renegotiate its agreement on the program with the federal government to include all types of child care. All the other provinces and territories have signed similar agreements.
“Taxpayer money is currently allocated based on the style of child care chosen, violating the principle of free choice without discrimination based on lifestyle choices,” Cardus said in a report it published in 2021, cited in the recent brief.
Under the program, the government has started paying 50 percent of child care fees on average. It aims by 2026 to have parents pay only $10 per day. That’s an estimated savings per child of $8,610 annually in Alberta, and $9,000 in Ontario….