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This was our first week back in the legislature in a year. While there have been some challenges getting used to the new format, I am glad to be back and advocating for the issues that you’ve been telling me about all year—the importance of environmental stewardship, affordable housing, support for small business, availability and support for affordable childcare and more. After a break next week we’ll see a new budget and you’ll hear more from me about where I think we’re headed and the potential impacts on Dartmouth.
Dartmouth Day Care
If you're a parent or guardian, you're likely aware that the Dartmouth Daycare Centre announced it would be closing the doors of its Crichton Avenue location on May the 3rd after over 35 years in operation. This has prompted a wave of over 30 panicked emails and phone calls to my office. This essential care centre serves a huge number of families in the downtown Dartmouth core. Read the CBC article here.
Some families will be accommodated at the Caledonia Road location, but accessing this site will be a major challenge for many, and not all children will have a spot there.
We need more, not fewer childcare spaces in the Dartmouth core, and we desperately need affordable childcare. This latest closure and others that are rumoured illustrate the need for universal, accessible, affordable childcare for all children under 5. I have been advocating for this since I was elected and will continue to do so, while also doing everything I can to ensure that we retain childcare spaces in our community in the meantime. I will send out more information as it becomes available.
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