Affordability
Many of the families I know are struggling with affordability. With housing costs so high in Metro Vancouver, and the resulting mortgage payments, it’s tough to afford everything else: utilities, insurance, food, clothing and so on.

• Many moms I know are clipping coupons, shopping on Craigslist, buying and selling at swap meets, cross-border shopping, cutting spending, working second or even third jobs and just doing whatever they can to make ends meet.
• It doesn’t help when Hydro rates, ICBC rates, ferry rates, tolls, and gas taxes keep climbing plus, I know it is municipal, but property taxes went up this year as well.
• I am frustrated because we are cutting costs like crazy at home but our bills keep increasing. We don’t travel by ferry unless we have to, have cut our deductibles for car and home insurance, cross border shop for gas, groceries, clothing, and household items.
• Families need help to maximize their after tax dollars.

Suggestions:

• Income splitting at the provincial and federal level for families with children. This is something Harper promised for 2014 federally – I really hope it goes through. In making the choice to be at home with my child to spend time with him while he is little, I would feel like my contribution was being recognized and rewarded.
• Find a way to reduce childcare costs for families
• Find a way to further reduce ICBC, Hydro, Ferry, tolls, gas tax increases…
• Keep taxes low!

Increase part-time work opportunities
Like many other new mothers, I asked my employer if it was possible to return to work part-time instead of full-time after maternity leave and was turned down. I was an employee in good standing with several years of experience in my public relations job at Metro Vancouver (GVRD).

• All of the moms I know want to spend as much time as possible with their children, and many would like to return to work part-time but most employers are not receptive so they either quit like I did or go back full time because they must.
• Encouraging employers to offer part-time work opportunities as part of the Jobs Plan would be huge for women in this province who have children, whether it is part-time hours, job sharing, flexible hours, and/or reduced work weeks.
• Providing programs to help stay at home moms work from home, or if they are out there, more advertising to promote existing programs would also help.

Supporting families dealing with infertility
Is there a way the government can help families who are dealing with infertility? My husband and I struggled with this issue for 2 years before we were able to get pregnant and I can tell you it is a financial and emotional roller coaster. My son means the world to me – I can no longer imagine my life without him – and even though we are well past this issue personally, I still feel for the many families who are going through this ordeal. They need your help.

• According to the Genesis Fertility Clinic website, 1 in 6 families who are trying to get pregnant will face this issue (more than you would think, yes?).
• The main reason for infertility is a medical problem and yet the drugs and procedures to treat infertility are not covered by medical plans. So not only are you stressed out and worried because you don’t know if you will ever be able to have the family you have dreamed of, but you also have to worry about how to afford it. Why is that?
• It cost us about $30,000 for infertility treatments and this is not unusual – a friend of mine spent over $40,000 (for the costs of various procedures, check out the Genesis Fee Schedule)
• I am asking for financial support for the families who are going through infertility treatments. There are tax deductions available but that isn’t enough.
• In my opinion there is also a major lack of public education about this topic and few support groups…

Childcare

This is the top issue for the Tri-city moms who responded to my Facebook post asking for feedback to take to the round table.

• For some families, even with two people working, the burden of childcare means they are struggling to afford a mortgage, groceries, bills, and so on but don’t qualify for the subsidies as they are not low income.
• Suggestions include: start preschool at age 2, more affordable daycare, improved childcare subsidies, longer maternity leave (2 years), encouraging businesses to have childcare at work, improved parental leave benefits for dads.

I am also including a couple of the Facebook posts which really show the frustration:

• “The cost of childcare for one child is almost equivalent to rent… for two it’s a mortgage! Easy! It’s beyond ridiculous. I didn’t like my job enough to pay that much for daycare, so now am a mostly Stay At Home Mom (who works part-time – for minimum wage – during evenings and weekends) and we are barely making ends meet. This is a sad reality for many British Columbians. Between a mortgage, bills, groceries, and a few inexpensive, community center-run programs for our daughter, it’s pretty tough. I am already thinking of forgoing school for myself later as the thought of putting my daughter in daycare or after-school care down the road is quite daunting. We are already broke… but I’m afraid that daycare costs – even with me working full time some day – will still make us broke – or maybe just a little better than broke. Almost makes me wonder if it’s worth the effort.” 
• “I work in the (child care) field and have 2 kids and financially does not make any sense for me to go back to work. When (my daughter) was in daycare last year, it was $1075 a month, now think 2 at that cost which is over 2,000$ a month!!!! Unless I made a ridiculous amount of money in childcare, I won’t be able to go back into the field until my daughter is in school full time! Subsidy yes is available, however you have to make less than a certain amount and if you are at all over that amount, you are denied. So I think the amount of subsidy needs to change so that more parents can be approved for it and be able to work! Something has to change in order for parents to go back to work after having babies”