Day care woes
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NDP leader Claudia Chender asked Premier Tim Houston if the government will be able to keep an election promise to establish 1,000 new day care spaces for children by the end of 2022.
Chender noted that a growing number of privately owned day care centres appear to be closing their doors because they can’t find staff or can’t fund operating costs, despite a new federal-provincial funding model that has reduced fees for parents.
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Chender tabled a letter from an early childhood educator (ECE) complaining “I could go to Costco and make more money.” The ECE complained the new wage scale that offers ECEs $17 an hour to start and a maximum of $24 an hour is not adequate compensation for long days caring for young children.
Chender said day care closures are not an issue confined to families but will also impact employers for whom it is going to be even more difficult to hire and retain workers if more day care centres continue to close.
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