Child-care fees in Nova Scotia to drop by 25 per cent Friday

Families in Nova Scotia will see child-care fees drop by25 per cent at regulated daycares starting on Friday.

The reduction is occurring ahead of schedule as part of the affordable child-care agreementthe province and Ottawa signed last year. The federal government will commit $605 million over the next five years, while the province will chip in another $40 million.

The fee cut will be retroactive to Jan. 1, according to a news release Thursday from the province. Parents willhave the option of getting a cheque for the savings from the previous three months or having it applied as a credit for their child care.

"I'm incredibly excited to offer real savings to families across the province," Nova Scotia Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Becky Druhansaid in the news release.

"This is the first fee reduction on our way to achieving $10 a day daycare, on average, for families by 2026 and a major step towards making child care more affordable and accessible for parents."

The release said 98 per cent of child-care operators have signed the 2022-23 provincial funding agreementto date.

Child-care fees in the Halifax area are, on average, between $868 and $957 per month depending on the age of the child,according to a report released in Marchby the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

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