Affordable Childcare For
Every Family
Thousands of working families across our riding are languishing on waitlists for $10-a-day childcare spaces that don't exist, because the workforce crisis caused by poverty wages for early childhood educators has left the system unable to expand fast enough to meet demand. Meanwhile, the families who need childcare most, lower-income families, single parents, Indigenous families, newcomer families, are the least likely to be able to access it. This isn't an accident. It's the predictable result of decades of underinvestment in care work and the women who predominantly do it. It's time to build a childcare system that actually works.
Double The Number Of Childcare Spaces
Thousands of families in Mission—Matsqui are on waitlists for childcare spaces that don't exist, meaning parents are being forced out of the workforce or into impossible financial arrangements just to keep working. New Democrats are fighting to double the number of high-quality childcare spaces across the country, built in the public and non-profit sector where wages and benefits for workers are higher and quality of care is better. New spaces should be located where families actually live and work, in communities like ours where childcare deserts leave families with no real options. Every space created is a parent returned to the workforce, a child given the best possible start, and a community strengthened.
Pay Childcare Workers What They're Worth
The average wage for an early childhood educator in Canada is less than $25 an hour. Most ECEs don't have pension plans. Many lack access to workplace health and dental coverage. This is the predictable result of treating care work as low-skilled labour rather than the highly skilled, socially essential profession it actually is. It's time to use the federal government's spending power for exactly this: New Democrats will fight to ensure childcare workers in every province have better wages, working conditions, benefits, and a pension plan, with provinces required to develop fair wage grids as a condition of federal funding. You cannot build a quality childcare system on the backs of poverty-wage workers. Treating childcare workers with the respect they deserve is not just a matter of fairness; it is the only way to recruit and retain the workforce we need to make universal childcare a reality.
Culturally Appropriate Childcare For Indigenous Families
Indigenous children deserve to grow up connected to their languages, cultures, and traditions, and the childcare system must actively support that connection. New Democrats will fight to improve access to culturally appropriate childcare in Indigenous communities, working alongside First Nations, Métis, and Inuit leadership both on and off reserve to develop programs that strengthen Indigenous languages and cultural traditions.
Free Care Packages For New Parents
New Democrats are calling for the federal government to follow the lead of Finland and Scotland, countries that send free care packages containing essential items like mattresses, sheets, blankets, clothes, and books to the parents of every newborn. This is a simple, direct, and proven way to save young families money, and ensure every child has access to the essentials they need.