Vancouver resident Rory Richards, who began seeking childcare for her twin daughters before she was born five years ago, says she has not yet found daycare for her two girls and told CBC she has paid more than $ 5,000 in nursery waiting list fees.
“It’s been a long, windy road in our quest for child care,” Richards told CBC News.
He is among many parents and advocates who talk about waiting list rates, which he describes as a barrier to finding affordable care.
According to a 2019 Vancouver Metro survey, the region had approximately 325,142 children under the age of 12 and 60,620 daycare places. This covered 18.6% of children aged 12 and under and fell below the 2016 national average of 27.2%.
The survey also noted that by 2024, the number of children under the age of 12 in the region is expected to grow to 350,068.
With scarce childcare places, many parents try to secure a place for their child by placing them on a waiting list, sometimes before birth, and doing so often involves a fee and no guarantee of get a place, parents and advocates. to say.
Rory Richards with her husband and five-year-old twin daughters. Richards says nursery waiting list rates have been a barrier to caring for children. (Photo submitted by Rory Richards)
Since Richards has twins, he has to pay double.
“It looks a bit predatory,” he said, adding that he has yet to hear of the approximately 15 kindergartens with which he has placed deposits over the past five years.
“Taking advantage of despair”
A 2016 report by the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives found that 47% of child care facilities surveyed in Vancouver charge waiting list fees.
Sharon Gregson, a spokeswoman for the Coalition of Childcare Advocates of BC, says government-funded nonprofits typically do not charge waiting list fees while most for-profit ones do.
He says some daycares charge about $ 20 to offset the administrative costs of running a waiting list, while others charge higher rates, sometimes non-refundable, and in such cases, it’s not uncommon to know about rates. ranging from $ 100 to $ 500 per child.
“Some of the big benefits are taking advantage of parental despair, frankly,” Gregson said.
Gregson says the law prohibits this practice, as it were introduced in Ontario in 2016, it would greatly help parents.
CBC has contacted several kindergartens that charge a waiting list fee, but received no response for the publication.
“I can’t pay them all”
Kitsilano resident Geronimo Ratcliffe, who started looking for daycare with his wife two years ago when his daughter was born, says most of the daycares they investigated, about 100, charged waiting list fees.
He says he chose to apply for those who did not charge these fees and managed to put his daughter on about 20 waiting lists.
“I used the ones that are free,” Ratcliffe said.
Gerónimo Ratcliffe, pictured here with his wife and two-year-old daughter, says applying to centers that do not charge waiting list fees meant limiting his family’s options for caring for children. (Photo by Gerónimo Ratcliffe)
“I know I miss a lot of places because I can’t afford them all. I don’t have a lot of free money to spend on them.”
Ratcliffe has finally secured a place in a daycare in East Vancouver, but says he has not received any response from other daycares.
Measures to help parents
In April, the province announced in a press release that it has expanded daycare from $ 10 a day to more than 6,500 places and expects to bring that figure to 12,500 by the end of the year. The BC NDP government began the $ 10-a-day child care program after being elected in 2017 and pledged during last fall’s election campaign to expand it across the province.
Families using these centers will not pay more than $ 200 per month per child for full-time enrollment, and facilities will not charge a waiting list fee.
Katrina Chen, the state minister for child care, says she is aware of the issue of waiting list fees and is investigating the matter.
“When my son was born, he was on several waiting lists, I paid for myself,” he said. “I had to work three jobs to get to the end of the month.”
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart, Child Care Minister Katrina Chen and Prime Minister John Horgan were photographed in 2019 at the Creekside Community Recreation Center, celebrating a partnership to bring thousands of child care spaces licensed in the city. (Maggie MacPherson / CBC)
Chen also said the province is investigating other measures such as the Provincial Child Care Tariff Reduction Initiative, which provides eligible child care providers with funding to help reduce parental rates.
“Unfortunately, it’s a little too late for families like mine, but it’s not too late for many other parents,” Chen said.
Richards, who is now also looking for a daycare for his newborn son, says not having access to daycare has put stress on his family.
“It has affected our ability to work and our income,” he said. “It can certainly make or break your career, the stress levels of your home, your family dynamics.”