Manitoba Progressive Conservatives pledge more affordable child-care options

The Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party pledged Sundaytocreate more affordable child-care options by continuing towork withprivate businessesif re-elected in the fallprovincial election.

Heather Stefanson, the PC candidate seeking re-election in Tuxedo, made the announcement Sunday afternoonat Living Prairie Childcare Inc., a 74-space facilitythat opened in July in southeastern Winnipeg.

"I think this is a prime example of how we can work together as part of the private sector to achievewhat we really want to achieve, and that is more child-care spaces inManitoba,"Stefansonsaid at the press conference.

Through the existing child care-centre development tax credit a $10,000-a-head rebate to corporations for each space opened up for childrenthe PC governmentpaid$740,000 to Winnipeg construction firmQualico to build Living Prairiein the Sage Creek neighbourhood. All itsspaces have been filled, a PC spokesperson confirmed in an email.

Familieswith children from kindergarten to Grade 6 who live in the suburb have an average annual income of $135,426, according to Statistics Canada data provided by the Louis Riel School Division.

Her party would introduce a new monthly subsidywhich offers up to $500 per monthfor 3,000 lower-income families to pay for a child-care optionof their choice, she said. Eligibility criteria is yet to be established.

The province alreadyprovides subsidies for qualifying families to help cover child-care fees.The subsidy, which applies to children aged 12 weeks to 12 years, dependson household income, number of children, their age, number of days required and reason for care.

"Our new portable child care benefits willprovide flexible child-care cost relief to eligible families who will need it most and offer more options to parents who feel that they don't have any," Stefanson said.

The Manitobagovernment hasalready committed to funding3,000 more spaces through a 2018agreement with the federal government as part thenational child-care framework. Stefanson said "these new spaces are over and above" the PC party's prior commitments.

In response to the Sunday announcement, the New Democratic Party of Manitoba slammed their opponent'schild-care record. "Brian Pallister'sgovernment sat on their hands for three long years as families struggled to find quality, accessible, reliable child care," reads a statementrelease Sundayafternoon.

The NDP drewattention to the PC's child-care centrefunding freeze which prompted 26,000 Manitobans to sign a petition from theManitoba Child Care Association callingon the province to end the freeze.

"He made a de facto cut to the subsidy for the most disadvantaged parents for several years making it harder for those parents to access child care," the party said in arelease.

"Pallister's record on child care shows how little he cares about working families and how little he values early childhood education he's only concerned for those at the top."

The Manitoba Liberals said the bottom line is that therearen't enough spaces available.

"There are over 16,000children on the wait list and this announcement does not even come close to addressing this issue," a spokesperson respondedin an email statement. "We need to start by expanding spaces and should be making it more affordable for all families."

Manitobans head to the polls on Sept. 10.