The NDP unveiled a multi-million dollar proposal to create more child care spaces if re-elected.
Their plan includes a $25 million fund to build more public and community-operated child care facilities, including a new 100-space centre for St. James.
Leader Greg Selinger said the new facilities are needed in order to create the 12,000 new child care spaces they have promised.
“We’ll take a proactive approach to build them that will allow us to lease them out and make them available to non-profit organizations, so they can have daycare spots for their families, for their children, right here in places like St. James.
The money would go towards building government-owned facilities that would be leased to community child care operators.
They said this is in addition to an existing promise to spend $25 million on creating child care centres in schools.
They also propose to increase training opportunities and wages for child care workers.
To make child care more convenient for parents, the party pledges to create more spaces for school aged children in schools. Currently, every new school built includes a daycare, Selinger said.
He also said the provincial government could partner with school divisions that are interested in building daycares.
Selinger contrasted his party's plan with that of the Progressive Conservatives, who have talked about working with private facilities to create more spaces.
