 to today's event a reminder to media on the line please press star one to enter the queue you will be limited to one question and one follow-up with that I will hand it over to Minister of Finance Selena Robinson thank you good afternoon everyone it's great to be here today I'd like to begin by acknowledging that I'm speaking to you from the traditional territory of the Lekwungen speaking peoples the Esquimalt and the Songhees nations last week we released budget 2022 it's a budget that continues our work to build a stronger society by putting people first and it comes at a time when affordability is top of mind for British Columbians now more than ever this government needs to do everything possible to make life more affordable for people for families and for businesses reducing the cost of child care is an important affordability measure for British Columbians and making child care more accessible and affordable helps people especially women participate in the workforce with budget 2022 we're saving families more money as we move closer than ever to our plan $10 a day child care since launching child care BC since launching the child care BC plan in budget 2018 government has invested over 2.4 billion dollars to build an affordable accessible high quality child care system budget 2022 also embeds child care within the ministry of education so parents know that when their child is ready there will be a classroom ready to welcome them to tell us more about this work I'd like to ask Jennifer Whiteside minister of education to join us with more details minister hello and good afternoon my name is Jennifer Whiteside I'm BC's minister of education and soon-to-be minister of education and child care and I'm very grateful to be joining you today from the traditional territory of the Likungwan speaking people of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations thank you so much minister Robinson for your words and I'm it's terrific to be here with my colleague minister Chen and I'm with Carly and Kyosha who are who are joining us and we'll speak lady later and I just wanted to also give a shout out to BC students and their families to all of our teachers and support staff the early childhood educators and the many others who work in schools and in school districts you know when I meet with parents and educators and others looking out for kids in our province they always talk about the importance of the early years we know giving kids the best possible start with early childhood education is critical to their growth and development it helps create the opportunity for every child to thrive early childhood education is also about opportunities for parents it allows them to work outside the home to pursue education or skills training to support their families and build a good future for themselves and their loved ones all well knowing their children are learning in a safe environment and that's why our government has been increasing our investments in and building child care BC into a core service that families can count on we know that when we invest in people we build stronger communities and a stronger province for everyone and one of the biggest returns we get on our investments is with our public schools in BC we know that at the heart of every great community is a great school with a fabulous team of staff with educators who are beloved by their students where communities really come together and today we're building schools to be more than just places of learning and intellectual development we also want our schools to be our community hub our heart our schools are cherished places of mental and emotional support for children and youth and for parents our schools launch kids into a lifelong learning journey and with the changes that we're making in budget 2022 that journey is now starting a little younger as we work to make care and education of kids of all ages better and easier for parents the ministry of education will become the ministry of education and child care starting next month we've listened to the child care advocates it's their expertise that is guiding us on the path of fixing the child care crisis in BC and this is an important recognition of their hard work it's also because we want parents and educators to know that we believe your child's early years are just as important as their K-12 education we want parents to know that we're building child care BC to be as available and reliable as their local public school we want to better plan and build new child care regionally to meet needs of local families and we want the goal of building more child care spaces to be front and center when we plan new schools so we can make it easier for families to come together as their children move through different ages and milestones so what's new today we're announcing the expansion of two important services for families the first is just before this innovative service supports children in the year before they enter kindergarten and helps make it easier for kids to transition from child care to school we're expanding the just before program to 14 more school districts for the 2022-23 school year so that more kids are supported for success in kindergarten the second announcement relates to seamless day kindergarten and just like it sounds we're making it easier for working parents and for kids by putting before and after school care for kindergarten age children in their classroom over the next three years we'll be expanding seamless day kindergarten to up to 36 additional schools across bc to relieve more parents of the stress of juggling multiple sites during their child's day making sure every family can get quality child care in their community is a big job there are a lot of moving parts that need to work together to make sure it's there for families when they need it and this is another step in the right direction on that journey together every day we're focused on strengthening child care as a necessity for all rather than leaving it as a luxury you have to be wealthy to afford we want bc parents to know you can count on us from your child's early years all the way to graduation it's all part of our commitment to build a stronger bc for everyone through the ministry of education and child care we will continue to invest in new and leading edge early learning and child care programs to best support our youngest learners and help make transitions within the education system easier for everyone so i want to say a big thank you to bc families parents students teachers and all of the staff in arcade a 12 system for supporting and embracing seamless day just before and the other programs in school districts throughout the province thank you very much and now i am so pleased to introduce kary nickle a parent from the okanagan skaha school district my name is carlie nickle and i am like spoken a parent from the just before program here in penticton bc uh thank you so much for having me this event actually is perfect timing because my son is in the program right now this afternoon so it does buy me a little bit of time to join you all um that being said my family has really appreciated the opportunity to have our younger son at the local school here um in the just before program it's been a great way for him to get an introduction to school he has learned to print his name words to various songs practiced routines in the classroom worked on his fine motor skills and preparing him for to be independent when he starts kindergarten he's built confidence in doing tasks like getting to ready to play outside it can be very tricky um getting all that winter gear on and his teachers have helped him master um that task he's also practicing his behavior as far as being respectful and respectful to his friends um it truly warms my heart when he runs out of class and has little play dates set up with new friends that he's met and it has been great for him to also be introduced to the principal and other staff at the school and it really makes me feel more confident with his transition into kindergarten knowing that there's a safe space that he'll be attending um i have also been so lucky to have this special care of our very two um two very fantastic educators miss Tavris and miss Alexis they support and give our son William so much extra love care and attention they have helped me and my husband recognize ways we can support William Moore like working on his concentration for certain tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps also encouraged us with the areas that he's excelling in like music and being excited for whatever task is coming on next in the classroom miss Tavris and miss Alexis also have taken the time after class often to chat with me which honestly i believe is probably more for me than my son um it's been really hard with anxiety um from putting a child in school and with all the things going on in the world right now and them taking that time to check on my mental health and to make sure that i know that William is doing well and ways that they can support me and him has just really been important it's helped me a lot i have really appreciated actually for my for my own mental health this program as a primary caregiver i could feel some very often that i'm quite isolated especially with rules on gatherings and i'm having an affordable option to send my child has been so important because it gives me that time at home for time for myself or for other household tasks it also has let me you know say hello to parents drop-offs and pickups we've made friendships um seeing people what they're doing throughout their day making friends to be able to go for walks with it can be quite hard um when you start at a new school making those friendships and so knowing that both myself and my son will have friends starting in the kindergarten year um has just meant a lot and it definitely makes a better part to my day getting to see people and chat a little bit um and then that overall the my family's experience has been fantastic and i truly am excited that more families in bc will experience this program and it's really great to hear um that the they will be continuing the program and supporting families with what they need to attend because it definitely can be a financial burden on some and we're so lucky that we get to send our son five afternoons a week and um i'm it's really exciting to hear that there's going to be support for more families to do so so thank you for having me well thank you so much carly and just listening to your words um reminded me of what life was like 26 27 years ago and i wish i had those programs uh when i was um a mom with uh with with preschoolers and i also want to thank minister white side for her fabulous announcements and with that i will now introduce uh and ask minister of state for child care katrina chen to say a few words thank you so much minister robinson and minister white side and before i begin i want to acknowledge that i'm joining you from bernaby on the unceded traditional territories of the coast selish peoples and i do want to give a special shout out and say thank you to carly and kiyosha who's going to share her story later for being with us here today and share your family stories and how child care and services are really critical to you and your little ones um your stories are important for us to know the reasons why we need to continue the work we've been doing to bring child care as a core service that all bc families can count on and minister robinson quickly talked about 20 something years ago but even if your parents in bc just about five years ago or or even now for many parents we know how our child care journey probably started even before your child arrived your family and friends will likely give you advice from the day you started waiting for your little one when you're pregnant and they would say you better start looking for child care you would probably all have heard that as moms and parents and maybe your friends have school age kids and they remember how hard it was to find a space or how expensive it was just for one child in daycare not mentioning two or three kids and parents also tell us that journey gets bumpier each time their child heats a new milestone so even if for example you can find under five or even taller care by the time is for kindergarten the search for before and after school care begins many parents like myself need care somewhere close to the school as well so then when it's the you know we as parents we think about when is the right time to transition out of before and after school care do we need it because our kids are ready or is it because it's expensive or hard to find so throughout this child care journey there are so many so many tough choices and that is why we started the child care bc plan in 2018 it is about making it easier for parents on every step of the way doing their child care journey we are working to end the patchwork child care services that don't work for working parents we want child care in bc to be dependable care everybody can count on and that is why we have been building together with child care advocates providers and parents like Kyosha and Carly here during the past past five years with all of the stories with all the things that we've learned we've made a lot of progress and the progress are already making positive differences for families and you may ask what kind of differences where is ten dollar a day child care plan and as you may hear from Kyosha the work we've done so far to bring down the cost of child care has already been making a big difference for many many bc families when families can afford child care they can focus on their work and other areas of their lives and since the release of child care bc in 2018 we have been working hard to turn the corner and reverse the damage done by treating child care as a luxury rather than a necessity that families can count on tens and thousands of families throughout bc are already saving uh thousands sorry hundreds of dollars sorry thousands a year uh but hundreds of dollars a month because we are funding child care centers to reduce their fees already about 96 percent of eligible licensed child care providers having wrote in our fee reduction program saving families up to 350 a month per child and more savings are on the way we are broadening and deepening those savings as part of budget 2022 that by the end of this year we're cutting average child care fees by 50 percent for families with children aged five and under from 2019 levels this means an average of 20 a day or 400 a month and for the first time ever in bc we are making sure parents of school age kids are also getting a break on the cost of care they will pay for an average about 20 a day or 400 a month for before and after school care in september 2023 and those sort of important steps on our journey to $10 day child care our 10-year plan for all bc families and really in just a few short years we've already funded more than 26 000 new licensed child care spaces and that is the fastest space creation in bc's history bc families will continue to benefit from the creation of 30 new spaces for children from births to age five by march 2026 and a total of 40 000 spaces by march 2028 we're going to continue to work hard connecting more parents with child care in their communities so they aren't left wondering where to turn because we know bc families have diverse needs that require diverse options so we're going to continue to support all kinds of child care providers from public to non-profit to for profit and family run in-home oth care to help deliver the care that you need that works for your family with diverse choices and diverse needs and because child care doesn't work without educators i want to give our collective thanks to the dedicated professionals like minister weissai has already said who provide such important services and care for our children and for our future generations their expertise and training help give kids the best possible start possible but low wages and uncertainty we know have driven many of them out of the profession and that is why we've been working hard on recruit recruitment and retention efforts so they can enter this profession stay in this profession for a long time and that is why we're expending post-secondary seats providing bursaries for more early childhood educators we're working to make sure early childhood educators get better pay and respect so they can choose and afford to keep looking after our young children's our babies while i'm speaking today i also have to take a moment to reach out directly to people and young people who are planning their future if you love kids please consider early childhood education we will need about 10 000 early childhood educators over the next decade and opportunities are huge and we want you to see early childhood education as a rewarding career you can dedicate yourself for the long term because kids need you we need you bc families count on your services and we're going to keep fighting for early childhood educators businesses families local communities we all benefit from making child care a core service family can count on and that is why we're making quality inclusive child care available to families when they need it at the price they can afford that is the vision we've been campaigning from the beginning of our 10-year child care bc journey i know it sounds like a long time but we are well underway we're cutting fees by half by the end of this year and that is a mission we're determined to fulfill two bc families because we are stronger when we work together and by strengthening child care together we can make life better for families not just today but for many years and generations to come so once again thank you all for joining us here today and thanks to everyone from child care advocates parents educators to all British Columbians who have supported the work that we have been doing collectively together to make this historic and important positive changes for families in bc thank you thank you so much minister chen and thank you for your your advocacy and your passion for the issue it's really paying off and with that i'd like to ask kiyosha jarard to ask to share her story with us kiyosha hello thank you for having me i'm a parent as well as an educator at tigger two early learning center in comox bc and i wanted to thank you for allowing me to be part of the conversation of how the access to quality affordable child care has made lives better for all families across bc as a mum of two when the cc fri funding first became available in 2018 it was a great step forward in providing families all across bc with a hundred dollars for ages three to five and three hundred fifty dollars for infant toddlers towards care for child care fees 96 of facilities have child care facilities have enrolled in this initiative and yet many families and parents are not aware that this provincial funding is currently being applied to their child care fees it simply goes to show you how much child care really does cost furthermore i'd personally like to speak about the life changing experience the ten dollar a day child care bc funding has had on my family as with any family experiencing the cost of child care you can understand that the entire process is a very stressful endeavor at ten dollars a day my children are able to attend a quality child care facility and in turn both myself and my husband are able to work knowing that the daily cost of child care is no longer a struggle this has benefited us so much and we are now able to apply our finances to different aspects of our life and in turn this has made a stressful conversation a very inviting one so it's a process and not something that will happen overnight even something as simple as cutting child care fees in half will have a large impact on children and families like the results have been truly life changing thank you thank you so much for sharing your experience with us kiyosha since we introduced our child care bc plan we have funded over 26 000 new child care spaces each of those spaces means a parent who struggles less with the child care costs as a barrier to employment a parent who can go to work with peace of mind knowing that their child is safe each of those spaces means businesses can keep the talent that they need to grow this is what it means to invest in an economy that works for everyone to make our community stronger and more affordable by putting people first thank you so much for joining us today and we're happy to take any questions that you may have thank you very much a reminder to media on the line if you would like the opportunity to ask a question please press star one to enter the queue you will be limited to one question and one follow-up i'll just pause to allow media the chance to queue should they have any questions okay it appears your information was so comprehensive no questions today thank you everyone for participating have a great day