‘This is amazing:’ Parent pleased with newest child-care fee reductions

Alicia Kapustinsky couldn’t have been happier when she found out child-care costs in Saskatchewan were dropping once again.

“It gives us the ability to maybe plan for a bigger future, maybe have more than two children,” said Kapustinsky.

“With what my husband and I make for a yearly income, there’s only so much that we can put towards child care.”

The provincial and federal government announced Thursday they would be reducing child-care costs once again starting Sept. 1. Child-care fees will be reduced by an average of 70 per cent compared to March 2021 levels.

In January, it cost Kapustinsky $815 a month for her 18-month-old daughter to attend daycare. The first set of reductions in March cut those costs to $420 a month.

With fee reductions in place for September, a family with an infant in full-time child care can expect to pay $550 less than what they paid in January of this year. Full-time fees will not be reduced below $200 a month for families.

Kapustinsky said managing costs was a challenge when she returned to work.

“It was very difficult,” she said. “I didn’t start work again until February and so when I came back from my maternity leave, you’re waiting for your first paycheque and you’re living on one income with a child and you’re trying to support a life that you’re used to but with this extra little being who needs all of these new things in her life.”

Daycare rates were one of the factors that determined how many children Kapustinsky chose to have, but also where she chose to live.

“I think across the country it’s great, especially in city locations,” she said. “That was actually one of the big things for us. We had thought about moving back to Saskatoon for a brief moment, but looking at daycare costs, that would have been obscene.”

Kapustinsky is currently a teacher in Biggar, an hour west of Saskatoon. She said other parents she knows have previously relied on the help of family members for child care.

“I think for parents who come from possibly lower-income homes or maybe single-parent homes, it might let some parents have more accessibility to get to the daycare and have that as an option,” said Kapustinsky.

The child-care fee reductions are part of the $10-a-day child-care fee plan set to hit its target by 2026. Kapustinsky said she is completely for this plan, but hopes the money comes from an “allotment that will not cause a detriment to another sector of the province.”

“As a mother, I love it,” said Kapustinsky. “As a parent, I think this is amazing. As someone who has friends who have children, it’s great. As an educator, I wonder where the dollars go, but that’s a whole other conversation. How are they supporting a lot of these daycare systems that are amazing?”

Kapustinsky said the extra money will be put into her daughter’s bank account and to help advance home renovations.