By Jill Slater

NDP child-care plan would double Sask. spots

Oct 14, 2014 | 5:23 PM

The federal NDP unveiled a child-care plan Tuesday that promises parents would pay no more than $15 a day per child. 

The multi-billion-dollar plan that would add 370,000 new spaces across Canada in the first four years should the NDP form government.

“We’re talking about a doubling of the number of child-care spaces in Saskatchewan,” said NDP Regina-Lewvan candidate Erin Weir.

Right now, there are 14,000 spaces throughout the province. With the investment the NDP has planned, Weir says there would be 28,000 spaces after four years.

“When I knock on doors across Regina-Lewvan parents often express frustration about the fact that quality child care simply isn’t available,” said Weir. “And often that pushes people into using unlicensed care, into arrangements that aren’t convenient for parents and aren’t good for children either.”

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The $5 billion over eight years would add or maintain 1 million child-care spaces – an investment NDP Regina Qu’Appelle candidate Nial Kuyek says is worth it. 

“I’ve talked to many families who require daycare. Some are shift workers, like casino workers or nurses. My wife is a nurse and knows nurses who have difficulty getting daycare, child care around the shifts that they work. Young working single parents need access to daycare,” said Kuyek.

The federal NDP says their plan is modeled on Quebec’s child-care system – a system leader Tom Mulcair says adds $1.75 for every dollar spent by the government.

The NDP is beginning to roll out its platform in advance of next year’s election in October 2015.

JSlater@rawlco.com

On Twitter: @genericjill