May 5, 2005
The NDP today said they would spend federal childcare funding on childcare – which begs the question: was Carole James not aware that under the federal agreement, all funding must be spent on childcare?
Federal funding has already been committed to childcare in the 2005/06 provincial budget, p. 4: “Anticipated federal funding for child care has not been included in Budget 2005; the new funds will be committed to the child care budget once details of the transfer arrangements are known and the accounting treatment is confirmed.”
The NDP Record
- In the dying days of their government in 2000, the NDP announced a half-billion-dollar a year universal day care program – but never had any plan to pay for it.
- Documents written by Carole James herself in 2001 show that the cost of the NDP program would have been:
- First year: $127 million
- Second year: $225 million
- Third year: $384 million
- Fourth year: $480 million
(source: Vancouver Sun, 12 May 2004)
- “The previous plan that was brought in by the NDP government, in fact, was cost-effective for British Columbians.” – Carole James, Vancouver Sun, 12 May 2004
- In fact, Carole James explicitly misrepresented the cost of this program as $60 million a year when in fact briefing notes written under her own name showed the costs would swell to $480 million a year. (Source: Vancouver Sun, 12 May 2004)
The BC Liberal Record
- BC Liberal Platform: “Expand childcare and early childhood development with an expected $600 million in new federal funding over five years.”
- We have made 32,000 more daycare spaces eligible for funding. About 77,000 spaces are now eligible for government funding, up from 45,000 in 2001.
- 10,000 more children are now eligible for daycare subsidies, making at least 37,000 children eligible. Further improvements to our subsidy program include:
- $200 increase to the income threshold for subsidy to parents working or going to school.
- Increase in partial subsidies, and in subsidy rates for children under 6 in licensed or regulated childcare.
- Increase of special needs supplement from $107 to $150.
- We are spending more on capital for childcare centres. $2.5 million in 2004/05 for capital upgrades, up from $1.5 million in 2001. This has created over 1,800 new spaces and provided enhancements for over 24,000 spaces since 2001.
