VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As the calls for a $10 a day childcare program continue in this province, a new study is out suggesting it would largely pay for itself.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives study found a program like that would grow our province’s economy by $3.9 billion, with an annual cost of $1.5 billion.
“There are benefits to society as whole,” says economist Iglika Ivanova with the CCPA. “Raising children to be healthy and reach their full potential, which childcare can help with, and there’s benefits to the economy of women being able to work.”
The study found it would boost government revenues to the tune of $1.3 billion.
“We can afford it as a federal-provincial partnership, or we can afford to do it on our own as a provincial-only program if the federal government does not support it,” says Ivanova.
Ivanova says it’s worth considering in the context of this year’s federal election; both the NDP and Green Party have promised subsidized daycare if elected.
