New Brunswick government moves forward on daycare commitment

The New Brunswick government is moving forward with its commitment to create more daycare spaces in the province with plans to increase the number of spaces to 6,000 by 2020.

READ MORE: Highlights from New Brunswick budget 2017: more spending, more debt

On Monday, Premier Brian Gallant made the announcement on Monday, committing to an investment of $1 million to support the Early Learning and Child Care Trust Fund. So far, the government has added 2,3000 more daycare spaces.

The fund was created to promote learning and development in early childhood and disperses its funding to various operators of child care facilities and recognized post secondary institutions.

The funding is welcome news for Cara Fillier, a mother of two, who told Global News she has been unable to find infant day care for her son Reid. Fillier has had to take an extended maternity leave as a result.

“I’m losing out on some money when I could be working, but I can’t because I have to stay home with my child.” Fillier said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm losing out on some money when I could be working, but I can't because I have to stay home with my child." Fillier said.

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Melody Munro, founder and CEO of WEE College, is owner of several daycares and she said while the money is a good start, more is still needed.

READ MORE: Would a universal childcare system in Canada pay for itself?

“I really look at when the government is gonna look at their curriculum and provide more resources,” Munro said. “Childcare centres throughout New Brunswick need equipment, they need resources, they need parks they need playgrounds.”

The government increased the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s budget by 4.9 per cent – or $56 million – for  2017/2018. This increase, Gallant said, would increase the services the department would be able to provide.

“It means there’s gonna be more parents who are going to be able to go into the work force and fill some of the jobs that we have to be filled, some will go back to college and upgrade their skills,” he said.

“So we recognize the importance of investing in daycares and early learning has many benefits both socially and economically.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "So we recognize the importance of investing in daycares and early learning has many benefits both socially and economically."

The Gallant government also remains committed to doubling the budget for the daycare assistance program. When the government took office, the budget for the daycare assistance program was approximately $15 million.