T
iany Ottahal, a work-
ing mother of two
children aged three
and one, knows how lucky
she is. Her son and daughter
are in licensed child care, and
she and her husband own,
together with the bank, the
roof over their heads. But
those blessings are hard-won.
Earlier this year, the
Ottahals were making a go of
it in a two-bedroom Burnaby
condo that their young fam-
ily was quickly outgrowing.
"From a housing perspective,
we couldn't aord a place in
our neighbourhood that would
have enough room for our
family," explains Tiany, who
works in non-pro-t manage-
ment. "We're very fortunate in
that we have well-paying jobs,
but even though we had done
everything right, we couldn't
aord housing."
Renting didn't seem viable
either, between high prices—
about $2,700 for a three-
bedroom—and the constant
threat of renoviction, a fate
suered by many of their
friends. With Tiany's
maternity leave about to end,
though, housing was less
urgent than child care. When
two daycare spots did open up,
she was elated, but the $2,600
monthly bill negated most of
her income.
"It made it even more
impossible," Tiany recalls.
"Going back to work, the
majority of my wage would
go just to child care, and how
were we going to have enough
room for our kids? We were
basically stuck."
The Ottahals couldn't help
wonder: Did friends who were
in the same boat as them and
ALANA pAtERSON
Space Jam
With a chronic child-care shortage making life dicult for B.C. families
and businesses, will $1 billion in new provincial spending turn the tide?
by Anne Casselman
C H I L D C A R E
(
the informer
)
O N
T H E
R aDa R
Day sCare
220,000+
B.C. children under
age five
<81,000
Licensed child-
care spots
in the
province
$1,227
Estimated average
monthly fee for a
toddler at a licensed
Vancouver daycare
$1,333
Estimated average
monthly fee at a
licence-not-
required
facility
$2,700
Estimated
average
monthly cost of a
nanny in B.C.
UP TO $350
Monthly fee
reduction for group
infant/toddler care
if provider opts
into the provincial
government's new
child-care program
SOURCES: StAtIStICS CANAdA;
CANAdIAN CENtRE fOR pOLICY
ALtERNAtIVES; wEStCOASt
ChILd CARE RESOURCE CENtRE;
CANAdIANNANNY.CA; gOVERN-
mENt Of B.C.
moving on up
Lower daycare costs helped
working mom Tiffany Ottahal
and her family afford a home
with room for everyone
SEptEmBER 2018 BCBusiness 15
