Ask any parent in London and they might tell you finding available child care for their tot can be a struggle, a claim backed by a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
The study released on Thursday shows London in a seventh-place tie with Vancouver for having the lowest available child care spaces for non-school-aged children in the country. Figures show 66% of pre-kindergarten kids in the two cities live in so-called "child care deserts" where there are three or more children for every one licensed space.
The area of the city south of Hwy. 401 has the worst child care coverage at 2% with just five spaces for 220 children. On the flip side, north London has the best coverage at 247% with 507 spaces for 205 kids.
Nationally, the report estimated 776,000 children are living in child care deserts.
The report concludes that the shortage of licensed daycare spots, coupled with long waiting lists, can be just as challenging for parents as the high cost of the service.
“Rising child care fees are a barrier for parents and can fluctuate wildly depending on where you live. Now we have found there is even greater variability in child care coverage rates than in fees,” said study author and CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald. “Policies to improve access to child care will clearly have to take both fees and availability into account.”
The child care space data used in the study was collected in March and April of this year, predominantly from publicly accessible provincial websites that provide licensing information. Unlicensed daycare spaces were excluded from the study.
In adding new child care spaces, the report suggests government officials first need to examine under-served communities in both rural and urban areas.
“Improving access to affordable child care will help close the gender gap, spur economic growth, and ease the burden on struggling parents,” said Macdonald. “But it will do none of these things if we just focus on adding spaces without considering where those spaces are most needed. Clearly, the priority should be addressing Canada’s many child care deserts that are otherwise parched for care.”
