$10 per day childcare is now less than a month away in Saskatchewan. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Cheaper Childcare

Local daycares react to $10 per day childcare announcement

Mar 6, 2023 | 4:00 PM

If you’re looking for a daycare space for your child, it just got a lot less expensive. Spaces, however, are filling up faster than ever.

Today, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould announced Saskatchewan would achieve $10 per day licensed childcare by April 1. They had agreed to make this the case as of 2021.

“It kind of goes along with the way the province is running,” said Kristy Thompson, early learning childcare manager for the Prince Albert location of Hope’s Home. “They’ve been striving toward this. Originally, we were told it was going to be 2025. So it’s definitely substantially sooner than we were all expecting, which is great. It’s great for our families, for sure.”

Thompson saw it as great news for families in the province, especially those whose kids are already in care. They’ve already gotten a sense of just how great the need for childcare in the city really is.

“For us, it means all of our spaces fill up,” Thompson said. “There’s definitely always been a need. Now, with the decrease in fees, it’s a lot more affordable for our families, which makes living a lot easier for our families. It’s definitely a great thing to see and a great thing for our province.”

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According to Thompson, Hope’s Home has been trying to reduce their fees for some time in order to prepare for the adjustment. They started the process just over a year ago, and their spaces filled up rapidly at that point.

“We are starting to see other childcare centres pop up, which is great,” Thompson said. “There is such a big need, and they’re creating more spaces as well, which is something the community definitely needs here. It’s a really positive thing, I think.”

Other centres are lauding the move while at the same time understanding they’ll very quickly hit capacity if they’re not already there.

“Our waitlist, we’re looking at one to two years at most of our centres to get in,” said Danielle Werchuk, co-executive director with Children’s Choice Child Development. “Our one centre is at a three to four-year waitlist, and we’re constantly getting calls on it.”

Families with two working parents aren’t the only ones who send their kids to daycares either. Some parents bring kids into childcare centres for other reasons.

“We’re also just finding some parents who want it for their kids to come in and socialize,” Werchuk said. “Especially because it is cheaper and more affordable, we’re seeing a lot of people come in.”

Thompson added she had children in need of care herself when it was still far more expensive, so she’s happy to know other families will have a financially easier time.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP