National daycare system will need more money to lower fees, expand spaces, Hussen says

The federal minister in charge of the government's pushon child care says reducingthe fees parents pay is a keyfactor in the Liberals' planfor a national system.

Equally as important, saidSocial Development Minister Ahmed Hussen in an interview with The Canadian Press, is the goal ofexpandingthe number of affordable daycare spacesacross the country for parents who want them.

He said the two issues have come up in his conversations with hiscounterparts in countries that have created their ownnationalchild-care systems.

Hussen said that driving down fees and ramping up the number ofspaces likely wouldrequire a sizeable influx of federal funds.

He added the government expects the already high demand fordaycare spots to increase once the pandemic is finally over.

"We have to work hard together to decrease fees substantially,to make it more affordable for parents, but we also have to makesure that there is an increase in the number of spaces," Hussensaid

"Otherwise, we'll have a situation where you make it moreaffordable, but only for those who can access it. And for those whojust can't find a space, they're out of luck."

Businesses buy in

The Liberals pledged to create a universal child-care system intheir September throne speech as a way to help more women return toand enter the workforce. The number of women in the workforcehas droppedduring the pandemic.

Along with longtime child care advocates, business groups also havebecomemore vocal supporters of the idea something Hussen and other Liberalsnow cite when discussing child care.

November's economic statement pledged money to help provinces andterritories hire, train and retain early childhood educators, and tobuild the necessary government infrastructure to guidepolicy development.

"You can't talk about a national system, more affordability,more quality and an expansion of spaces without hiring moreworkers," Hussen said.

"Without increasing the number of early childhood educators,then you're not really delivering on those increased spaces."

The total earmarked forchild care in the fall statement came to$585 million in new money, some of it spread over five years.

In their consultations with experts, the Liberals have been toldthat federal funding would be need to make spaces more affordable.

In some cities, a daycare space can cost more per month than rentor mortgage payments.

On the other side, covering the cost of spaces is also seen as away to help child-care centres rely less on steep fees which dried upwhen lockdowns forced them to close.Some centres closed for good, while otherswere pushed to the financial brink, because they run on tightmargins.

To build the kind of system nationally that Quebec hasprovincially couldcost Ottawa upwards of $11 billion annually once its fully in place, according to some estimates.

Child care is a provincial responsibility and a change in federalgovernment could also shift priorities away from a plan that wouldtake years to implement.

Hussen said the government will be looking to "generate earlymomentum" with provinces and Canadians to prove the Liberals areserious about the child-care promise.

He also said the government would bring "resources and politicalwill" to the table in talks with provinces.

Hussen said similar efforts will take place with Indigenousgroups to co-develop a daycare system that is culturallyappropriate.