Ella Dalling has had her nine-month-old daughter Murph on daycare waitlists since nearly the first ultrasound.<\/p>\n
"We probably put ourselves on about 20 waitlists across Vancouver. We haven't heard back from any of them," Dalling said.<\/p>\n
The Vancouver mom says parents have no choice but to wait or cold call daycares.<\/p>\n
And because B.C. has no fee caps for daycares, prices can fluctuate between $200 and $2,000 a month.<\/p>\n
"When you get a spot at a daycare, you're not really asking how much it costs, you need the spot," she said.<\/p>\n
Dalling has launched an online platform called Little Scout where daycares can post open spots and parents can find what\u2019s available near them.<\/p>\n
Through that business, she's talked to parents and child-care operators from across B.C. who say the current system needs improvement.<\/p>\n
"When you have families deciding whether or not they can have a second child because of daycare availability, you know you have a problem," the Vancouver mother said.<\/p>\n
Former NDP cabinet ministers say B.C. has \u2018stalled\u2019 on $10-a-day child-care plan<\/p>\n
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives finds that B.C. has fallen behind other provinces when it comes to universal affordable child care.<\/p>\n
The province's child-care system is a mix of private and non-profit operators, some with deep government subsidies and some that charge full price.<\/p>\n
David Macdonald, one of the report's co-authors, says parents are asking a simple question.<\/p>\n
"How much am I going to have to pay for child care in places like British Columbia?" he asked. "The answer is very complicated."<\/p>\n
Is B.C. still committed to $10-a-day child care? We asked the minister<\/p>\n
Out of the 35 Canadian cities studied in the report,\u00a0B.C. cities are the priciest, with infant fees ranging from a median price of\u00a0$28-a-day in Kelowna to $52-a-day in Richmond.\u00a0<\/p>\n