'We know that it can be done': Advocates press N.S. to create centralized daycare waitlist

Nova Scotia's Official Opposition and child-care advocates are renewing their calls for the provincial government to implement a centralized daycare waitlist — a strategy that's been adopted by the other Atlantic provinces. 

As it stands, parents in Nova Scotia who are trying to find child care must apply to individual centres across the province. Since the majority of licensed child-care centres are at capacity, most families must sign up for multiple waitlists hoping to eventually secure a spot. For many parents, this process starts during pregnancy. 

"Parents are endlessly calling daycares, being put on dozens of waitlists and given no clear timelines on when their child will secure a spot," said NDP MLA Suzy Hansen last week during question period at the House of Assembly. 

Hansen asked Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Brendan Maguire whether he would create a centralized waitlist, pointing out that he had advocated for one in recent years when he was a Liberal MLA. 

But Maguire did not say outright whether this is something the Houston government is looking at. 

"We're going to continue to work to ensure that everybody has access to daycare," he said, pointing to the more than 6,500 child-care spaces the province has created since it signed a $605-million bilateral agreement with the federal government in 2021. 

In a followup email, Maguire's department told CBC News it is in the process of developing a "modern IT system to support the delivery of early learning and child-care services" that "could include a co-ordinated registration and waitlist."

Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador have all moved toward a provincial waitlist. Spokespeople for each province told CBC News they wanted to increase transparency for parents, and lift some of the administrative burden off both parents and child-care providers. 

Having just one list is also commonplace in Quebec, and some municipalities in Ontario.

Newfoundland and Labrador launched its "early learning gateway" in spring 2024. It's a digital waitlist where families can sign up for various centres, and receive updates on where they stand. There are currently around 6,000 kids on the list, according to Minister of Education Krista Howell.

"It's still not a silver bullet to fix all of the [child-care] issues by any means, but we do have a much greater understanding of what the true need is right now," she said in an interview. "We're very happy with the way that this is unfolding."

She said the website has indeed relieved some of that burden from parents, including she herself who is in line to get a spot for her seven-month-old baby.

"Every couple of days I'm getting an email that says, 'A new centre has opened up here. Have a look.' You can sign in and see where your child may be on a particular waitlist … I'm still a ways out yet," she said. 

It's not clear exactly what a waitlist would look like in Nova Scotia, but advocates say it should be designed to take the burden off daycare centres and parents.

Hansen said in an interview that Nova Scotia should look to other provinces to see what's working and what's not. Similarly to Howell, she argues that a centralized daycare waitlist would give the government and the public a better understanding of exactly how many people are out there in need of child care. 

Beth Towler, executive director of Wee Care Developmental Centre in Halifax, said there are roughly 500 children on her waitlist. 

She would like to see the process streamlined and run by the province to allow her workers to focus on child care, as opposed to the administrative work that comes with managing such a long list of families. 

She said she also witnesses a lot of anxious parents who are desperate to find a spot, many of whom will repeatedly call, email or even show up at the centre to see where they stand. 

Kenya Thompson with Child Care Now Nova Scotia said that one challenge she could foresee with a provincewide registry would be ensuring that children get proper accommodations where needed. She said parents would need to have the ability to indicate whether their child has complex needs or specific cultural requirements, for example.

However, she said overall it would be a positive step toward creating a fully accessible, non-profit child-care system, which is part of the province's agreement with Ottawa. 

"We know that it can be done … we can look to our neighbours and see the model that they've been practising," said Thompson. 

Pam Aucoin, executive director of early learning and child care with Nova Scotia's Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, said in January 2024 that the idea of a waitlist was being looked at, though she had reservations about how effective it would be. 

In its email Thursday to CBC News, the department said the needs of Nova Scotians are at the heart of the forthcoming IT system. The work is being driven by feedback from providers, families, educators and others, it said.

"Our vision is to create a single point of entry for providers, families, and early childhood educators, that will integrate with other systems currently used by the department and providers."