Growing Stronger by Caring

Finding affordable childcare is a challenge for many families in our city. The median cost of childcare in Lethbridge is $900.00 per child, only $50.00 less than Edmonton. We have one of the highest childcare costs in the country for a city of our size. Families with more than one child in child care can very quickly get priced out of options that work for them. The Federal government has made $10.00 a day childcare a priority commitment, and with our Provincial government dragging its feet on making affordable childcare a reality in our province - the City of Lethbridge can lead in making affordable, accessible early education childcare a reality here. We can do this and more.

The need for affordable and accessible childcare is as pressing as it ever has been as families struggle with wage losses due to the pandemic. The conversation on affordable childcare has unfortunately not changed much for the better since I was in childcare. It is a priority for me, and it is clear that affordable childcare is on the minds of many, many folks in Lethbridge. In every neighbourhood we have door knocked in, affordable childcare is the conversation we have most often.  By leveraging funds from other levels of government to create childcare spaces and working with not-for-profit childcare leaders in our city we can create an innovative affordable child care program here in Lethbridge.

The provincial government continues to leave money on the table when it comes to improving the lives of families and workers - and childcare is no exception. Affordable, accessible childcare is a priority for families and workers. It impacts everyone - including employers and our local businesses. As a parent myself, I know the juggle of finding childcare that works with my budget and my needs. 

The lack of affordable childcare in Lethbridge hurts families and our local economy. A Lethbridge affordable childcare program will grow good quality employment - incentivizing College and University graduates to stay in Lethbridge, will give families more options for employment and care, and will support the next generation through early education education outcomes. Affordable, accessible childcare and early education has a multi-generational impact. It will immediately support families with real childcare choice, direct economic stimulation and increased employment in Lethbridge and supports employers by ensuring reliable child care for parents.

Access to childcare supports that meet the needs of the family invests in healthy development and education outcomes. It also takes the pressure off of informal childcare arrangements.

One of the greatest barriers to full time employment for parents is the cost of childcare. The average full time child care spot is $900.00. If you are a minimum wage worker, even at full time hours, that is over a ⅓ of a month’s wages before taxes. Even with the subsidy increase the Alberta government implemented instead of universal affordable childcare, before taxes the take home is less than $1500.00. If you have more than two children in care, the take home after childcare costs with the subsidy is less than $1000.00. This wouldn’t account for any sick days, vacation days or personal sick days. Alberta has contributed the fewest dollars to affordable childcare in the country, despite the lagging employment and increased gendered employment gap. 

Alberta has the highest wage gap in Canada - an average of 66 per cent for every dollar earned, and the highest rate of women in part-time work with women making up 60 per cent of part time minimum wage earners. These numbers are heavily born by Black, Indigenous and Women of Colour. In Lethbridge the wage gap and representation in minimum wage work is not as pronounced due to pay equity and more equal employment in our largest employer: public sector work. However, women still need to take more time off, need more sick days or leaves of absence to care for children and are less able to advance due to the constant juggling of appropriate child care. And outside of public sector work, women over-represent workers in minimum wage service industry - many of whom were considered essential workers and had to find safe child care in the midst of school closures and childcare centre restrictions in wave after wave of the pandemic.  

The YWCA puts the loss of employment for women at 12% higher than the loss of employment for men, and Alberta wide, women now only make up 55.8% of employment. This is a huge loss for our local economy. With fewer women working, wages that would have recirculated in our local economy are lost and those families are more dependent on social supports to meet their basic needs. For single income earners, this income loss is even more profound. 

Despite the increased wage and employment gap, women still shoulder 50% of household expenses - and without reducing barriers to employment through affordable childcare the combination of the financial burden and unpaid labour will lead to even higher levels of unemployment for women in Alberta. The impact on employers with fewer folks in the workforce is significant and will ripple out. 

We can use the empty spaces in our downtown and in the Northside core to create high-quality, affordable early education childcare spaces directly in the neighbourhoods people live and work in - supporting growth in our local economy. By leveraging funds from other levels of government to create childcare spaces and working with not-for-profit childcare leaders in our city we can create an innovative affordable childcare program through the city.  If elected, I will work with the other city councillors, the city administration, and current childcare leaders to explore how the City of Lethbridge can expand affordable child care and early education to meet the needs of every family that needs it.