New Democrat MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard says families in Courtenay will save money on child care as a local child care site become $10 a Day ChildCareBC sites where fees are capped at a maximum of $200 a month per child.

“For many people, the cost of childcare has a huge impact on their family budget,” said Ronna-Rae Leonard, MLA for Courtenay-Comox. “These $10 a day childcare spaces save families hundreds of dollars each month, and ensures that parents don’t have to decide between paying bills, and paying for childcare.”

The Lighthouse Early Learning Centre in Courtenay is becoming a $10 a Day ChildCareBC site, which means 16 child care spaces will have fees dramatically reduced for parents.

Spaces in the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program reduce the average cost of child care from $1,000 a month at participating facilities (for full-time, centre-based infant care) to $200 a month, saving families approximately $800 a month per child on average. The newly approved $10-a-day spaces are being offered at 61 child care centres throughout B.C., bringing the total number of $10 a Day spaces in B.C. to nearly 11,000.

In addition to these spaces, the Province, with federal funding support, is helping approximately 69,000 families with the cost of child care at centres that are not part of the $10-a-day program through child care fee reductions of up to $550 more per month per child. These savings, which kicked in on Dec. 1, 2022, are in addition to the $350 per month per child that families have been saving through the Child Care Fee Reduction Initiative since 2018.

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