‘It has helped us immensely’: lower child-care fees welcomed by local families

In an effort to make child care more affordable, the federal and provincial governments negotiated a new agreement in the fall of 2021.

Fees are lowered by expanding subsidies and affordability grants for parents of children zero to kindergarten age.

“There’s been quite an uptick in need for child care and families looking for licenced programs and it’s also been such a great thing for our current clients,” Justine Mann, one of the owners of Little Owl Learning Centre said.

Her business, who’s been advocating for lower child-care fees for years, recently moved into a new building with the double the space.

That, on top of lower child-care fees, has made Little Owl very busy.

“We announced we were accepting tours in our new location and within 24 hours we were booked up until the middle of March every day,” Mann said.

Since more families are looking for licensed programs, child-care centres must adapt to meet the demand.

“Looking to hire three more full-time positions as well as a part-time position in the upcoming months,” Mann said.

As families become less financially strained, the Medicine Hat and District Childcare Association says it will change conversations about going back to work and family planning.

“I think those conversations are going to be happening in a much more simpler and easier way for families now that they have access to affordable child care,” coordinator Jennifer Usher said.

As for Lesmeister, working is very important to her and now her paychecks can be put towards other expenses instead of childcare.

Applications for child care subsidies can be found here.

by Teagan Rasche

‘It has helped us immensely’: lower child-care fees welcomed by local families

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