Renee Bernard, NEWS1130

Childcare advocates are trying get enough traction on the idea for the government to take notice.

The people behind what’s being called “a public early-learning system” have been talking to community groups around the province for the last year about their comprehensive plan.

Sharon Gregson of the Coalition of Childcare Advocates of BC says the proposal is to have childcare become the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.

“The experience in Quebec, with a $7-a-day system, is that the plan pays for itself,” she explains. “More women, more parents are able to access paid employment and pay taxes. It improved Quebec’s gross domestic product. It was a huge boost to their economy, and that’s just what  we need for BC.”

The average cost of daycare in BC now is $60 a day.  According to the latest numbers, only seven per cent of children in Vancouver under the age of three have a childcare space available to them.