REGINA — There may be a new deal with the federal government, but concerns about $10-a-day child care returned as a hot topic this week in Rocanville.
A town hall meeting was held Wednesday night on the issue of child care in that community, with a major concern being the viability of child-care centres in the province under the current extension that took effect April 1.
What transpired at that meeting became a main topic in question period on Thursday. NDP Child Care Critic Joan Pratchler relayed some of the concerns raised by those at the meeting, including the following:
“‘Our family is planning to move back to Ontario if there’s no more child care in this area.’ ‘How can you keep the economy strong when you don’t have workers because you can’t get child care?’ ‘How could I afford to have children? How can you not see that this is an issue, and how it impacts young women and families?’” said Pratchler.
“What does the minister have to say to the people of Rocanville and the surrounding area who are worried that their child-care centres are on the verge of closing under his watch?”
Minister of Education Everett Hindley said the “government is taking action. The provincial government is taking action to make sure that we maintain and sustain the amazing growth that has happened in the sector over the past five years of the federal agreement on the $10-a-day child care.”
He said the province has indicated to the federal government “there were shortfalls, that when it comes to the funding from the federal government — and every province and territory has indicated that to the federal government — that there is substantial need for more funding from the federal government to make this program sustainable for the long term.”
“Well, Mr. Speaker, let’s talk about the concerns that the parents and staff had at that meeting last night,” Pratchler replied.
“This is right from the meeting floor. If this child-care centre goes under ‘Families could pay thousands of dollars more per year to have access to child care.’ ‘Businesses will feel the financial and staffing impacts if parents do not have access to child care.’ ‘Economic development will be impacted. People will be deterred from moving to this area, in Rocanville, rural Saskatchewan.’”
“When will this minister take some responsibility for this botched-up mess he’s made of child care in every corner of Saskatchewan?”
Hindley responded by pulling out some quotes of his own.
“This is from a child-care operator who wrote in and said that they viewed this direction as very positive with respect to the changes, Mr. Speaker: ‘The shift towards stabilization and sustainability will greatly support both existing child-care providers and new operators.’”
He also quoted SECA [Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association], the organization responsible for the sector, saying that it sees the actions “as part of a larger move towards a child-care system that is more consistent, stable, and fair.”
Hindley also lambasted the NDP.
“The members opposite, we can never get clear from them what their position is on this. Because remember, months ago they were saying, just sign the old agreement. Sign an extension with no changes, Mr. Speaker. Hurry up and sign it. Mr. Speaker, as I have said multiple times, now they’re disagreeing with their own position. They can’t make up their minds. That’s why, Mr. Speaker, no one in this province takes anyone over there seriously, particularly the Leader of the Opposition and any of those so-called critics, Mr. Speaker.”
In speaking to reporters, Pratchler again highlighted the importance of the issue to families.
“Let me just put this in context. We are in seeding time in Saskatchewan,” Pratchler said. “Over 50 people were at that meeting; over, it's climbing as we speak, 4,000 people live streamed. They are angry, they are frustrated, and they are very worried about their child-care centres being on the brink of closure. We are not just in Rocanville, we are in every corner of this province.”
The issue, she indicated, is that not enough has been done to put money into child-care centres to keep them operating.
“This minister has not done what he needs to do in order to keep child-care centres open, period,” said Pratchler. She added that it is up to the province to step up and put money into child care.
“You want to play ball like the big boys? Well, you better come and show some ante. Because what this government has not done, they are blaming the federal government because it's not enough money. But what they have not told people is they haven't put a little cent into this. Every other province has given extra funding in addition to what the federal government has been offering to make child care work.”
Cara Werner, director at Dream Big Childcare in Rocanville and also chair of Childcare Now Saskatchewan, said the new changes from the ministry “are going to have a devastating impact on these centres and homes.”
She pointed to the struggles child-care providers were having under the changes.
“We came to the meeting with receipts. Our financial statements are a matter of public record. We share those. We have nothing to hide. I don't think the ministry can say the same thing.”
As for the response she has gotten from the government, Werner said “I think it's frustrating because if they're not willing to put their money where their mouth is, I question their dedication to childcare in Saskatchewan and to the $10 a day program. If you support it the way that you say that you support it, then you need to be able to put some money behind it and actually support the system that you're trying to build instead of watching it flounder.”
As for the notion that operators can just increase their prices, Werner said it went against the agreement with the federal government “because now it's not $10-a-day child care. It's operating under the guise of a $10-a-day system and it's not actually. There's going to be all kinds of hidden fees for parents and loopholes and more money that can be charged to them.”
In speaking to reporters, Hindley said that since signing the new agreement between Saskatchewan and the federal government, “we've been working closely with our federal counterparts on that in terms of the implementation going forward.”
“As you heard from us a few weeks ago in mid to late April, there's some changes that we're going to need to implement as of July 1 in order to maintain the sustainability of the sector, maintain the tens of thousands of spaces that have been created as part of the expansion into child care across this province over the past number of years. So, since that point in time, we outlined some of the changes that are coming effective July 1, and we've been working to engage very closely with the sector to help provide information and to answer any questions that might be coming through from the sector to address those concerns.”
He said ministry officials have been engaging with the sector across the province through a number of information sessions since the changes were announced.
“Our officials and the team have worked very hard to answer as many questions as they can during those engagement sessions. There have been four already, I understand, and there will be some follow-up information that will be sent out as a result of the questions that have been asked during those engagement sessions. And if there are more specific questions being asked by individual daycare and child-care operators, our officials are endeavouring to have those one-on-one conversations afterwards to help navigate what's happening.”
As for the NDP, Pratchler told reporters they will be hitting the road on the issue.
“You bet. I've got an invitation already for the next couple of weeks to different child cares that are going under. They've had enough. When you rile up the women in this province — you know (they) say we have division in the province? No, not on childcare. There is one thing that has solidified and unified this province, and I'll tell you, it's the debacle that's happened with childcare. The women are the ones that are going to unite against this. Mark my words… We're on fire. We're on fire. And that grass fire ain't going out for a long time, especially in rural.”
