Jasper considers using leftover COVID-19 dollars on child-care strategy
Jasper Municipal Council may opt to use $24,000 from the COVID relief reserve to develop a child-care strategy.
The strategy would examine the current role of the municipality in the provision of child care, identify gaps in child care within Jasper compared to the other communities and look at the potential approval of family day homes.
At council's committee of the whole meeting on July 27, two recommendations were presented to provide council with a more systemic look at local child care.
The first recommendation was that the committee recommend council to approve the use of $24,000 from the reserve to develop a community strategy.
The second recommendation was that council undertake advocacy to encourage the province of Alberta to join the national Early Learning and Child Care plan.
“The world of early learning and child care has been fraught with tensions in Canada for as long as I can remember,” said Kathleen Waxer, director of community and family services.
Waxer also stated that it has taken a great deal of time to understand that early childhood educators are educators and not babysitters.
The next tension is the affordability of quality care.
The bulk cost of child care is in the staffing.
The cost of an infant in child care is approximately $16,000, which is almost the equivalent to a year at university, making affordability a challenge.
The other major question is whether the parents or government should pay the cost.
During the pandemic, more families are struggling to afford the fees of early child care.
Administration had discussed three different concepts when coming up with recommendations to committee regarding how they could use the $24,000.
The first was an idea to create a new subsidy tier. The idea was to enhance the provincial system that is already in place to assist more families.
But the Alberta government had come up with a similar idea after the report was published.
The second concept that was explored was a fixed discount to the families that are already using the child-care services at Wildflowers.
This could support 52 families for six months, saving $75-100 per child each month.
The final option that was explored was whether the $24,000 dollars might be invested in developing the strategy that was mentioned earlier and taking a more systemic approach to child-care related issues within the community.
Ultimately, the final concept is what administration landed on as their recommendation to council as the best utilization of the funds.
Coun. Jenna McGrath said she was in agreement with the recommendations and felt that the $24,000 could have a longer lasting impact if used in the right place.
She also agreed that council should advocate for the province to join the nationwide early childhood learning and child-care plan as soon as possible.
Mayor Richard Ireland then asked if $24,000 was the right amount to spend.
Lisa Daniel, childcare services manager, stated that she reached out to a few consultants in the area, and the ideal is around $23,000 to $35,000.
Committee recommended council approve the use of $24,000 from the COVID relief reserve to develop a community child-care strategy and that committee recommend council undertake advocacy to encourage the province of Alberta to join nationwide early learning and child-care plan ASAP.
Mayor Ireland then changed the wording of the motion to say that committee recommend that council approve the use of $24,000 from that portion of the COVID relief reserve previously allocated to provide subsidies to users of municipal child-care services.
With the amendment in place, all councillors were in favour and the motion was carried.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.