Child-care funding 'music to our ears,' advocates, parents say

Parents and advocates for affordable child care in Ottawasay the promises made in Monday'sfederal budget werea long time coming, but certainly welcome.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the federal government will invest roughly $30 billion over five years to help offset the cost of early learning and child-care services.

• Liberals promise $30B over 5 years to create national child-care system

The investment follows decades of broken promises and half measures on child care, andis designed to reduce what parents pay for care in the coming years. Thegoal isto drive down child-care costs withinfive years to just $10 a day per child, nationwide.

That's a huge drop compared to what families in Ottawa are paying now. The median cost of daycarein Ottawa last year was$1,140 per month, according to budget documents.

Becca Carroll, 28, saidmost parents in Ottawa are currently paying between $50 and $100 a day, so the relief will be welcome.

"It would be really great. Quebec already does this. They have a set amount per day that's subsidized for children, and I think that really helps," said Carroll, whose two-year-old daughter will likely start daycare in the fall.

'It's like they've been listening'

Child-care advocates are thrilled by the announcement, according to Kim Hiscott, executive director of Andrew Fleck Children's Services, a local child-care provider.

• Child care experts say they're looking for sustained funding in federal budget

"It's like they've been listening. All the details that are included in the budget are just music to our ears," Hiscott said. "It feels now like early learning and child care is at the same level, is at the same value as education and health care."

Samantha Bush, 24, is hoping the funding will make it more affordable for parents, especially mothers, to return to work. Bush said since she first returned to work last April, about half of her income has been paying for herchild's daycare.

"I'm essentially making ... $8 an hour now. I'm making less than minimum wage for my time because I have to pay for somebody else to watch my child," she said.