The Liberal’s minority government is attempting to advance a plan it first promised 14 years ago to help fund childcare initiatives before it faces the possibility of heading back to the campaign trail. Social Development Minister Ken Dryden met with his provincial counterparts last Friday in Vancouver to try to reach an agreement on childcare.

Although some provinces like Ontario and Manitoba are ready to jump on board with the deal- which would provide 5 billion over five years targeted mainly at daycare and early learning centers- reactions remain mixed.

Alberta representatives sought a change to the federal government’s proposal that would make it optional for the provinces to report to the federal government on how they spend the money, which it would prefer to funnel into the hands of parents. The draft proposed by Dryden stipulated that the provinces must be accountable to the federal government and that the money must go to government-regulated child care centers.

The concerns from Alberta may be justified, considering a survey released by statistics Canada last week which showed that 78.5 per cent of children under six are under the care of either a stay-at-home parent or a relative. The benefits to this group would be relatively minimal under the deal Dryden proposed.

The number of children under the care of (non-parental) family members is on the rise—up 41% over six years—but so is the number of children in daycare centers, which accounts for a quarter of Canadian children—a 26 per cent increase from six years ago.

The Liberals’ proposal has also sparked concern over for-profit childcare centers. Most childcare advocates have urged governments in Canada to invest more into non-profit agencies. They are concerned about the quality of the care offered by providers whose goal is to make money.

Morna Ballantyne, National Director of Canadian Union of Public Employees, fears that expanding private child-care through investment of money from the Federal government will lead to child care becoming “predominantly a commercial activity.”

On the topic of for-profit child care, Minister Dryden said studies have shown that “on average, the not-for-profits score higher than the for-profits.

"That doesn't mean that there aren't some very good for-profits. It doesn't mean that there's not some very bad not-for-profits,” he continued.

Some representatives for British Columbia have also sounded the alarm that a national child-care plan isn’t practical to meet the unique needs of all the different provinces, saying that "the term system implies a single model across the country, which is unrealistic, raises expectations and doesn't allow all provinces and territories the flexibility to best meet the needs of children and families in their jurisdictions."

Debra Mayer, chair of the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada (CCAAC) believes that a federal agreement would ensure higher standards for child care across the board.
"If there was national legislation in place, that does suggest that there would be firmer guidelines on expectations on the provinces and territories,” she says.

The organization is hopeful for a deal that would make it so that parents looking for high-quality childcare “will be able to find it and it will be comparable in every part of the country.”

The division among the provinces reflects the dividedness of the Canadian public. In a recent Ekos poll, thirty per cent of Canadians surveyed were in favour of improved child care facilities, 28 per cent wanted the financial assistance to go directly to parents, 21 per cent favoured tax breaks, and 18 per cent thought it would be better for the government to simply offer more information to help them better care for their children.

Mr. Dryden defended his proposal by saying that the emphasis on improving child care centers is simply to offer “another option”—at the highest quality possible-- for parents.

The minister indicated last week that he would be open to holding multi-lateral talks with the provinces if no consensus can be reached among all the provinces and territories.

The federal government will again try to hammer out a deal on child care after the federal budget is announced on February 23rd.