No kidding around
MetroValley Newspaper Group -- North Shore Outlook
31 Aug 2006
Opinion

If you know anyone with children, chances are you've heard about the day care crisis plaguing not only the North Shore, but the entire province. The shortage is critical, particularly for children under three as day care operators avoid taking on the more costly and less profitable business of infant care. And who can blame them?

Just finding a space to have a day care amid stringent municipal regulations can be gruelling, not to mention confusing. In West Van, forget looking for a space in Ambleside Village - group day cares aren't allowed in commercial zones. In the District of North Van, try and expand beyond 10 kids in a residential area and you'll likely encounter roadblocks. North Van City allows more than 10 children in residential areas, but as ... Childcare Society recently experienced, NIMBYs want to keep their neighbourhoods free of kid crowds. This sort of climate has fewer entrepreneurs willing to bother risking financial loss and neighbourhood opposition to look after someone else's children.

The Conservative government isn't helping the matter. It's ending childcare transfer payments to the provinces in March 2007. In B.C., the money was passed on to day cares, translating into $14.04 per infant per day; $7.48 per toddler; $2.80 for school-age children and $1.87 for pre-schoolers. The Conservatives Child Care Grant - which gives parents $100 per month for each child under six - will not compensate for the subsidy day cares will lose without the transfer payment. The province has yet to announce how it will address the shortfall and unless that occurs, it's likely that fewer people will be entering the field of early childhood education than ever before - and that will mean even longer waiting lists for child care spaces.