Some B.C. daycares charging parents additional fees, offsetting government subsidies

Some private daycares are charging hundreds-of-dollars a month in additional fees for meals and extended hours, offsetting the savings parents get through B.C. government subsidies.

Child-care advocates worry such a loophole could jeopardize the B.C. NDP’s universal child-care program and create a two-tiered system that offers more perks to wealthy families.

Thousands of parents saw their child-care fees cut in half on Dec. 1, 2022, thanks to a subsidy program funded through federal and provincial cash. B.C.’s child-care-fee reduction initiative (CCFRI) subsidies — which range from $900 to $545 a month depending on the age of the child — are paid directly to participating child-care centres. Centres then pass on the savings to parents through fees that now average $21 a day, or less than $500 a month for full-time licensed group care.

However, many daycare operators have complained that to participate in the subsidy program they must agree to a three per cent annual fee cap, which isn’t enough to cover the rising costs of wages, sick pay and inflationary expenses. Some have turned to optional fees as a result.