$10-a-day child care coming to Saskatchewan in April

Saskatchewan is ahead of schedule when it comes to $10-a-day child care.

The federal and provincial governments announced Monday that fees for regulated child care in Saskatchewan will be reduced to $10 per day starting April 1 — three years before that target originally was to be met.

When the two levels of government signed the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in August of 2021, the goal was to reduce fees to $10 a day by the end of 2025-26.

“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to investing in affordable, inclusive and high-quality child care that provides children with a positive start in life while also giving parents the flexibility and choice to build both a family and career,” Saskatchewan Education Minister Dustin Duncan said in a media release.

According to the release, children under the age of six who go to a regulated child-care facility on a full-time basis will be eligible for the lower fees, which would drop to $217.50 per month. The government said families will save an average of $395 to $573 per month for each child under six compared to the fees collected as of March 31, 2021.

“Today is a major achievement for families in Saskatchewan,” federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould said in the release. “By working together, Canada and Saskatchewan have achieved our shared goal of affordable child care three years ahead of schedule.

“We are continuing to focus on achieving other important targets through the Canada-wide system, such as space creation and support to early childhood educators, to ensure that every family has access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive child care.”

The federal government is investing nearly $1.1 billion over five years as part of the deal with Saskatchewan, which had 19,790 regulated child-care spaces across 144 communities as of last Dec. 31.

The governments are funding free training and education programs in hopes of increasing the number of early childhood educators, as well as raises of up to $5 per hour and grants for regulated child-care facilities.

More to come.