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EDITORIAL: Affordable child care can't come soon enough

More and more parents will be able to return to work, further diversifying the workforce and bolstering an economic recovery after two very trying years
cochrane-editorial

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday, Nov. 15, that Albertans will have $10-a-day daycare by 2026, but a lot can change in that time.

As part of the federal government's $30-billion plan to rollout affordable child care across the country, Alberta will see $3.8 billion over the next five years. 

The thought of paying a fraction of fees, which typically cost upwards of $1,000 per month, is nice but a lot can change in the meantime that could send this plan off the rails — especially on the heels of a worldwide pandemic. Already, Alberta is behind as the ninth province to pen the deal putting us further in the queue in terms of when these savings will actually come into effect. 

The promised $10-a-day daycare by 2026 also comes after the next federal election slated for the year prior and the outcome of that could affect the promises made by today's government. 

Luckily for those who can't wait, Monday's announcement also promised Albertans that child-care costs would be halved by the end of 2022. 

This means more and more parents will be able to return to work, further diversifying the workforce and bolstering an economic recovery after two very trying years. 

Having an affordable child-care plan in place is vital and though the five-year timeframe does seem like an eternity away, an important and encouraging step was taken this week and hopefully we can start to see the impact of these changes as early as next year. 

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