Tax break takes ‘financial pressure off,’ says daycare rep

It wasn’t the full break they’ve been asking for, but a representative from a Cathedral-area daycare is pleased with Regina city council’s decision to give licensed, non-profit daycares that own their properties a tax exemption of 40 per cent for the next two years.

“We’re immensely grateful that city council did this. It takes a lot of financial pressure off the daycares in the short term,” Colleen Schmidt from the Cathedral Area Cooperative Daycare said.

The tax break is an interim measure, until the city creates a policy on supporting daycares. It will cost the city about $41,600.

Schmidt said the money daycares save won’t be enough to create more spaces but will help improve the quality of their food, programming and keep fees from rising.

Council will also advocate to the province and federal governments to provide more help for daycares. It will also raise the issue at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association. Schmidt said Saskatchewan ranks last in terms of availability for daycare spots.

“The provincial government does provide operating funding already. The position of the daycares is that funding really should be higher,” Schmidt said.

“The cost of operating has gone up significantly. The cost of living has gone up and our funding from the province just hasn’t kept pace with it.”

Schmidt said tax breaks for daycares are not handouts, that they serve the larger public’s interest.

“There’s ample studies that every public dollar invested in daycare has high returns. In Saskatchewan it’s estimated that every public dollar that’s invested in daycare yields between four and nine dollars returned over the life of a child,” she said.

“That return comes from lower costs associated with crime, lower policing costs, lower poverty-related costs and social welfare and social housing … It takes a while to see those returns, but it’s definitely a good investment for the city’s long-term growth and cost-savings.”