The Department of Education and Child Care said on Friday that the fee cut will save families up to $550 per child, per month, depending on whether their child is in group or family-based care. The reductions take effect Dec. 1 and will affect families with about 69,000 children across the province, the ministry said. Child care providers that run more than 96 percent of eligible spaces have already signed up to participate in the provincial program, meaning families don’t need to apply for the new savings — the reduction should be automatically reflected in their monthly their account in December. Eligibility for the new cuts is not based on income. The ministry said “kindergarten age” means children aged five or six. Low- and middle-income families are still eligible for income-based support for children up to 12 years old through the Affordable Child Care Allowance that started in 2018, the ministry noted. Minister Jennifer Whiteside said the savings for families were on top of previous cuts of $350 per month for children under three in group care – meaning their fees would drop by up to $900 a month in total. At a news conference Friday, Whiteside said the fee cuts will bring the average daily cost of child care in the province to $21 by the end of the year, up from an average of $53 before the government’s childcare initiatives began. of children in 2018. Whiteside added that the government’s campaign promise of $10-a-day childcare is on track and will result in 12,500 more spaces for children by December 31.
