On Thursday, the Saskatchewan government announced the expansion of child care accessibility for working parents who will begin work in phases one and two of the province’s reopen plan starting on May 4.
While parents and guardians are now able to apply for the service if they meet the criteria, those centres will continue to operate within the public health guidelines which include a maximum of eight children per room along with increased sanitization measures.
NDP child care critic Carla Beck said the decision is welcomed, however she feels there has been a lack of consultation and response from the government regarding child care centres and early learning centres.
Beck said other sectors like the kindergarten to grade 12 sector have been able to have reasonable input throughout the pandemic, something that’s missing for the early years group.
“I think that can be at least in part attributed to the fact that they are asking those people on the frontline – teachers and school board members – by seeking their inputs while getting better answers and policy,” suggested Beck. “That’s what we’re asking for with early child care and learning centres in the province.”
Another concern she shared is how there are many underused and unused child care spaces in the province, meaning some providers are operating at a loss in most cases.
“They have indicated time and time again they are not sure how long they will be able to maintain their centres and whether they will be here after the pandemic passes.”
She feels bridge funding could help compensate for those centres that are struggling during the pandemic.
Cara Steiner, executive director of Prairie Lily Early Learning Centre in Regina, wants those supports to ensure early learning and child care centres will be able to survive.
She said Prairie Lily Learning and other centres are having staffing difficulties while trying to keep their businesses going.
“We unfortunately had to lay off about 75 per cent of our staff. They are all accessing the CERB program and I would love to bring them back on our payroll, but I can’t do that,” she explained.
“There’s no way for me to be able to take care of all of my staff and to be able to remain a financially healthy business that’s going to be here for people when they return to work and need to access those spaces again.”
Steiner feels her business is in an okay position right now, but admitted there are many other centres and homes that are wondering if they will have to close their doors soon.
