PORT ALBERNI – New Democrat MLA Josie Osborne says families in Port Alberni will save money on childcare as local childcare sites become $10 a Day ChildCareBC sites where fees are capped at a maximum of $200 a month per child.

“Access to childcare makes for stronger communities and local economies,” said MLA Osborne. “With this announcement, even more children in the Alberni Valley will benefit from high-quality early childhood education. And it also means parents will have more flexibility to study or work, helping to close wage and labour gaps which benefits us all.”

Two Alberni Valley Childcare Society locations in Port Alberni are becoming $10 a Day ChildCareBC sites, which means 92 childcare spaces will have fees dramatically reduced for parents.

This increases the number of $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces available for families across the province, from 2,500 when the program began in 2018, to more than 6,500. Through a partnership with the Government of Canada, the number of $10 a Day ChildCareBC spaces in the province will more than double again to 12,500 by December 2022.

In addition to $10 a Day childcare spaces, the BC New Democrat government is helping tens of thousands of families save as much as $1,600 a month on child care through the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative and the Affordable Child Care Benefit.

By the end of this year, the average rate of childcare will be reduced by 50% from 2019 levels for children five and younger.

For more information on the $10 a Day ChildCareBC sites and spaces: www.gov.bc.ca/childcare10aDaysites