Liberals pledge $10- to $30-a-day daycare, NDP promises B.C. shipbuilding plan

Photo: The Canadian Press

NDP Leader John Horgan speaks during a campaign stop, in Langley, B.C., on Thursday, October 8, 2020. British Columbia's party leaders offered a glimpse into how they would stimulate economic recovery if elected to govern in a virtual discussion hosted by the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. nbsp;THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The British Columbia Liberal Party is promising daycare at $10 a day for low-income families and rates that would increase from that price based on income.

Party Leader Andrew Wilkinson says the $10 rate would apply to families with household incomes under $65,000 if the Liberals win the Oct. 24 election.

There would be a $20 a day rate for families making $90,000 and $30 a day for those over $125,000.

Wilkinson says the plan would cost $1 billion in its first year and a Liberal government would begin implementing the plan immediately but he did not say when it would be complete.

The NDP began a $10-a-day daycare pilot program after being elected in 2017 and have pledged to expand that program provincewide, while the Greens have promised free child care for kids under three and free early childhood education for those aged three and four.

NDP Leader John Horgan, meanwhile, announced he would launch a B.C. shipbuilding strategy to make sure there's investment in local infrastructure that's needed for successful bids on national and international projects.

He says the NDP government had already put $40 million into enhancing ports and he believes the national shipbuilding strategy needs to be supplemented with a B.C. plan.