$10-a-day daycare fee brings N.L. families financial relief — but one advocate is warning about a squeeze

Fees for public daycare in Newfoundland and Labrador are now $10 a day, but one advocate says more spaces are needed. The federal-provincial agreement for affordable daycare fees was signed in 2021 and became a reality for many parents across the province on Jan. 2. Gillian Pearson, a child-care researcher and advocate, says the drop in fees is "a timely reduction" as families and their budgets grapple with prolonged inflation. "That's really where the bottleneck is for expanding these spaces," Pearson said. Henrike Wilhelm/CBCThe provincial government announced the latest agreement for affordable daycare in 2021, when daycare fees were as high as $75 to $80 a day.