'There's a lot of people who can't work because they don't have access to daycare… so this will fill the gaps'
Ottawa has been busy these past few years working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to implement a Canada-wide early learning and childcare (ELCC) system. The program is bringing fees for regulated childcare across the country down to $10 a day, on average, by March 2026.
As part of the program, the federal government is aiming to create roughly 250,000 new childcare spaces across the country to give families affordable childcare options.
So far, more than half of the provinces and territories are delivering regulated early learning and childcare for an average of $10 a day or less, and the remaining jurisdictions have reduced fees by 50% or more compared to 2019 levels, according to Ottawa
These include Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia .
Expanding access to childcare
Ensuring there's funding to expand daycare across the country will improve accessibility and fill gaps for those who do not have access to childcare services, said Carley Parish, managing partner at Lutz Parish Gerrish.
“Daycare has been an issue for a long, long time. There's a lot of people who can't work because they don't have access to daycare, because they can't afford it or because it's not available, so this will fill the gaps there.”
As more companies start to impose return to office mandates, the ELCC program will help in assisting those employees who may not have the same flexibility during the pandemic. However, Parish stresses the importance of assisting employees and accommodating parents and caregivers, as daycare doesn’t completely alleviate those responsibilities.
“I think this program could definitely help with the return to work because it’ll make daycare more affordable, more readily available, and I think it will help both employers and employees be more consistent when it comes to childcare,” she said.
Childcare and the workforce
While the ELCC program addresses one of the issues related to childcare and the workforce – affordability – it doesn’t solve the issue of the lack of childcare spaces. This issue persists as more employers bring their employees back to the office, creating a greater need for the service, said Matthew Fisher, barrister and solicitor at Lecker & Associates.
“Certainly, costs have been reduced by the implementation of the new program, which has cut fees for parents who have their children in daycares that participate in the program. However, in some ways, it exacerbates the lack of childcare space, as there are still an insufficient number of spaces.”
As not all childcare providers are participating in the program, the organizations that are offering $10-a-day childcare fill up quickly, while the ones that don’t remain unaffordable, he said.
“We're far away from solving the problem, and unfortunately, the net result is it cuts down people who can participate in the workforce who want to and need to.”
The other part of the issue relates to the length of maternity and parental leave. As per the Employment Standards Act, maternity leave can be granted for a maximum of 18 months. However, the amount of employment insurance offered for this leave only extends to 12 months, so parents can choose to stretch a 12-month payment over 18 months or take the remaining six months unpaid, Fisher said.
“Stretching the same 12-month amount over a longer period can become unaffordable, prompting a shorter maternity leave. But, many daycares, including the government-subsidized ones, only have a limited number of spots for children below two or three years old. So, if someone needs to return to work after 12 months, or less than 12 months, it becomes an incredible challenge,” he said.
Supporting employees who are parents
According to Fisher, the number one way employers can support employees when it comes to childcare is to be flexible about how and when employees do their work, as long as productivity is maintained, as this benefits both employers and employees.
“Every job is different, every industry is different, but employers need to take a step back and realize the benefits of allowing flexibility and allowing the participation of new parents who otherwise may simply be excluded from the workforce. Their talent or ability and their opportunity to contribute is cut back if employers maintain a strict notion that work can only take place in a certain way,” he said.
Employers can also meet with employees who have children who will be placed in daycare and discuss parameters with the employee to be more accommodating, Parish said.
“Employers should ask, ‘How can we, as an employer, work around your hours to be more accommodating? What can we do so that everybody can get where they need to get work done?’ Because trying to manage everything often just adds an extra layer of stress,” she said.
Parish also highlights how some provinces and employers provide income-based relief for daycare subsidies or caregiver stipends. However, she acknowledges that this is a benefit that smaller organizations may not have the luxury of providing.
“The more flexible we can be as employers and the more employees work with us, more employees will stay long term. I think that it’s important to be as accommodating as possible to a certain extent. You don’t want employees to take advantage of that, but as long as everyone works together, both can reap the benefits,” she said.
