Advocates say the cost of $10-a-day child care should continue to rise, but the think tank says it’s not working in the Netherlands.

A provincial children’s rights group says governments need to commit to promoting a $10-a-day child care system in Canada, but a conservative think tank says data shows it’s not working as intended in Newfoundland and Labrador .

Yolanda Potty-Sherman, a member of the Child Care Now NL steering committee, told CBC Radio that $10-a-day child care was an important step forward in making child care more affordable. The group wants to see the improvements continue and began a 10-day campaign for the program on Wednesday, National Children’s Day.

“The early learning that children receive between the ages of zero and five is very important for their future development. These are really the building blocks to helping them reach their full potential,” Potty-Sherman said.

“We need to continue this program, stick to it… All political parties and all governments must join in and commit to making this happen.”

Newfoundland and Labrador has signed up to the federal government’s $10-a-day child care plan in 2021, promising to create 6,000 new child care slots along with an early childhood education program.

A press release issued Nov. 4 by the Department of Education said families can now access approximately 10,900 $10-a-day child care slots, with another 2,100 in the pipeline.

Potty-Sherman said parents who were able to take advantage of the $10-a-day slots said it was a key benefit for their families, saving them money and allowing them to get back to their careers.

“Having access to high-quality child care for $10 a day gives (parents) the confidence that (they) can do both. And that’s really important,” she said.

But while some are successful in the program, many remain on waitlists as demand for space outstrips the supply and number of early childhood teachers available.

Potty-Sherman said she believes the province has taken steps to attract ECEs to the province – such as implementing a salary system and benefits plan – but there is still more work to be done.

“We don’t have enough such premises. However, it is important to note that we are moving forward and access is increasing,” she said. “Let’s not ignore this.”

An email to CBC News from the Ministry of Education confirmed that the Early Learning and Child Care Health Benefits Program was launched in October. The cost of the program is shared by the province and is supported by the Early Childhood Educators Association of Newfoundland and Labrador through Blue Cross.

Coverage is available to ECE children and those in training, as well as other childcare staff and regulated family care providers. Coverage requires employees of a regulated provider participating in the current provincial grant program to work 20 hours per week for a minimum of three months.

About 700 people are expected to take part in the program by the end of the year, the department said.

Government program to cut red tape, think tank says

Meanwhile, a conservative think tank argues that ECE’s shortages and significant amounts of government bureaucratic red tape have resulted in the program not operating at maximum efficiency.

“One of the main problems that is happening right now is the shortage of staff in this sector. People are describing it as a kind of workforce crisis,” Matthew Lau, a researcher at the Fraser Institute, told CBC radio on Monday.

Lau said Statistics Canada research shows 67 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador families seeking child care had difficulty finding it — the highest rate in the country, he said, and more than double the 33 per cent who had difficulties in 2019.

The number of children aged zero to five in child care also fell during this period, from just over 15,000 in 2019 to around 12,000 in 2023, he said.

“The decline in the number of children using child care, the decline in access to child care, all of this is pointing in a different direction,” Lau said. “I don’t understand how the government can actually say things are getting better.”

Lau said he believed some of the concerns of parents and daycare operators could be alleviated if operators were given more control. He would like to see the government cut red tape, which would make it easier to create spaces.

“Government oversight has created many operational challenges in child care. So, for example, many, or at least a few, child care centers over the summer reported receiving their operating grants late, which is a real hurdle in terms of trying to keep their centers open,” he said.

“Operators have also complained about bureaucratic red tape and administrative burden, which again is another obstacle.”

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