Salmon Arm daycare to provide $10-per-day childcare

Photo: Contributed

Shuswap Daycare Centre in Salmon Arm is the latest child care provider to be approved for $10 a day daycare.

This will allow for 12 spaces for infants and toddlers, and 24 spaces for children 2.5 to kindergarten age.

“Words cannot express the excitement we are all feeling toward the $10-a-day child care," said Kelsey Fenske, president of the Shuswap DayCare Society Board. "When the board heard we got accepted, we couldn't believe it at first. It was too good to be true.”

The $10 dollar a day child care program is funded by both the federal government and the province. Through the partnership, the Government of Canada will contribute $3.2 billion for childcare in B.C. over the next five years. The province is investing $2.7 billion over a ten year span that started in 2018.

The goal of the partnership program is to allow for access to high quality, affordable and inclusive early learning and childcare services. Katrina Chen, B.C. Minister of State for Child Care says “affordable child care can be life changing, and we’re one step closer to making that a reality for all families in B.C.”

For one Shuswap mother, this approval couldn't come at a better time with costs of everything escalating.

“The $10-a-day care for my child is extremely impactful for my family,” said Rhiianna Elliot, parent of one child at Shuswap Day Care Centre. “It’s extra trips to the grocery store and comfort in ensuring our housing and utilities are covered.”

Applications to the $10-per-day program are still being processed with priority being given to larger non-profit, publicly delivered and Indigenous-led providers in communities that do not currently have a $10-a-day site. Population density in communities is also a deciding factor.