‘Obviously we’re not there yet,’ say early childhood education supporters......

The provincial government’s $1 billion plus investment into a universal early childhood education program over three years is everything child care advocates hoped for.

“Consistent with the $10-a-day plan, the provincial government actually made an investment that addresses important barriers,” said Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze advocacy group.

“Although it only gets us part way to where we need to be in terms of $1.5 billion [annual funding] in about eight years from now, the dollars that they have invested have been targeted towards lower-income families as we recommended.”

The government went even farther than child care advocates had recommended for low-income families, targeting subsidies at families making less than $45,000 annually to ensure they pay little to no fees at all. Child care groups promoting the $10-a-day plan were asking for no fees for families making less than $40,000.