A 2019 study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives showed the median monthly fee for toddler care in 2018 was $1,030 in Calgary, $875 in Edmonton. Median fees for infant care were higher – $1,100 in Calgary and $975 in Edmonton. Costs have continued to rise since then.
When the federal program reaches its fifth year, if all promises are kept, it could reduce that Calgary cost to about $2,800 a year for care of an infant, an annual saving of more than $10,000. And it would result in decent pay for child care workers – and higher tax revenues from their earnings.
So we can all see why Mr. Kenney would hate that!
Ms. Wright also suggested that Mr. Kenney’s creation of the working parents’ advisory group suggests he also has no idea what Alberta parents think. It’s more likely he knows perfectly well. Who wouldn’t be delighted at the prospect of saving $10,400 a year?
Plus, the economic benefits to Canada and Alberta of the proposal would be enormous.
But Mr. Kenney, it would seem, isn’t interested in the benefits of anything that doesn’t flow through a pipeline. Especially if it might do anything to challenge his apparent view that the 1950s were the last time God was in Heaven and all was right with the world.
