Parents will have to wait for the teachers’ strike to disrupt classes before they can apply for the provincial government’s $40-a-day child care subsidy.
BC education minister Peter Fassbender said the provincial government had launched a new website (www.parentinfo.ca) to provide parents with details on when and how they can apply for the “parent support.”
Online registration will not begin until September and parents who do not have access to the internet will be able to apply with a paper application.
Payments will only be made as a lump sum after the labour dispute is settled, meaning parents will have to pay upfront for childcare arrangements.
Parents with children under 13 years old in public school are eligible and payments for students starting kindergarten or students who are new to the BC school system will be made once the students’ enrollment is confirmed.
According to the website, parents will be able to apply for the subsidy up to four months after the dispute is resolved.
An estimated 340,000 students would be eligible for the subsidy which the government expects will come out of the $12 million per day it pays in teacher salaries.
BC teachers went on strike June 17 and the last two weeks of classes were canceled.
Mediator Vince Ready said he would monitor the situation and could mediate the dispute if both sides reach a point where mediation would be productive. BC Teachers’ Federation has repeatedly called for mediation in the dispute. The two sides are reportedly close on the issue of wages, but not on class size and composition.
