Bill 167: Affordable and Accessible Child Care Act

This bill directly affects licensed child care operators across Nova Scotia — from small home-based daycares to larger centre-based programs. Not-for-profit providers stand to benefit from a new target-fee subsidy model where the government pays the gap between their fees and $10/day directly to them, stabilizing their revenue. For-profit child care businesses face a significant restriction: they will no longer be eligible for government capital or operational funding to create new spaces, effectively shutting them out of any publicly supported expansion. All government-funded providers, regardless of size, will be required to participate in a centralized waitlist system, changing how they manage enrollment and intake.