Part-time child care families could be left out under July 1 change, operator warns

A Rocanville childcare operator says families who only need spaces on a casual basis will be left out as a result of changes the provincial government is making.

Cara Werner – executive director of Dream Big Childcare and chair of the advocacy group, Child Care Now Saskatchewan – said while the Rocanville daycare has 45 licensed spaces available, it’s actually supporting 82 families by offering casual spaces.

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Werner said the arrangement allowed legacy childcare providers, whose fees are capped at 2021 levels, to “stack” spaces for different families to use at different times.

The province, however, is cutting off those “stacking” fees, effective July 1, which means an operator would only have the $10/day paid by the parents to support them.

“That’s not the same fee for same service that the ministry has told us is the model since day one,” Werner told reporters at a news conference held by the Saskatchewan NDP. “Now we have children that are just being left behind and aren’t being funded.”

NDP childcare and early learning critic, Joan Pratchler, said this change will  impact shift workers like nurses and first responders.

“These are the ones that keep our health care system running,” Pratchler said. “They’re workers who care for our loved ones, who respond during emergencies and keep communities functioning.

“Yet, instead of supporting them, this government is taking away child care options that make it possible for many of them to go to work.”

Pratchler called for the Saskatchewan Party government to halt the change until it has properly consulted with the people affected.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education said the changes were “designed to stabilize, protect, and sustain the child care system in the province.”

It also said additional funding recently announced by the federal government would not eliminate the need for the changes. Ottawa said the provinces and territories would receive an extra $5.4 billion over two years.

“The federal government has indicated that Saskatchewan is expected to receive this funding over the next two years and it will need to be added to the existing agreement and negotiated into the action plan,” the province stated. “The funds will also include annual adjustments based on updated population estimates to be released by Statistics Canada in the fall of each year.”

It added that it didn’t know how much to expect in funding, or how it was to be used.

“However, what is clear from the federal government is that these dollars are intended to address existing pressures to maintain the current system, not to support further expansion or enhancements.”

Pratchler said it is up to the minister to find a way to roll back the changes by using that additional money.