Rally at Sask. Legislature calls for $10/day child care extension and funding reform

Some Saskatchewan daycare operators say that they won't be able to stay in business if the provincial government doesn't address a variety of issues, including making a deal to extend the federally subsidized $10-a-day child-care program.

Regina's Prairie Lily Early Learning Centre organized a rally at the Legislative Building on Tuesday afternoon to make their concerns known.

Saskatchewan and Alberta are the only two provinces that haven't signed extensions to Ottawa's daycare program.

"If this does not get signed back in, I don't know if I can return to work," Paige Winship, assistant director of Wise Owl Daycare in Regina, said at the rally.

Another parent at the rally, Breanne Arnold, said she is disappointed the Sask. Party hasn't signed the child-care extension.

"Child care, especially the $10-a-day, was life-changing for our family. That's why this little one is here today, because we were able to afford child care. Had we been paying $900 to $1,500 a month for child care, I don't think we could have made our family any bigger," Arnold said.

On top of the $10-a-day daycare extension, organizers of Tuesday's rally say they want the province to restructure how daycares receive government money.

NDP child care critic Joan Pratchler was also at the rally. She called for the government to provide emergency funding to help child-care centres and said the government could have signed the deal to bring stability to families.

"A deal that's good enough for 11 out of 13 jurisdictions in Canada should be good enough for the people of Saskatchewan. This deal could have been completed already, giving peace of mind to so many," Pratchler said. 

Cara Steiner is with Prairie Lily Early Learning Centre. She said daycares that started operating before 2021 are locked into the fees charged back then, plus an 11 per cent increase. New programs are able to set higher fees, she said.

"There are some programs out there that are making very large revenues every year, then you have our older programs that are losing money to the point that they're looking at bankruptcy or even closure," Steiner said. 

"So we just really want the government to address this policy issue where they could even out fees for everyone and have us all on an even playing field."

Katherine Wadsworth's daughter Kaylee attends Prairie Lily Early Learning Centre in Regina. She said she is worried that many daycares could face closure if the province doesn't revamp its funding model.

"At a moment's notice, we could be given the memos to say Prairie Lily is closing June 1, for example. I would need to quit my job so I could take care of the kids," Wadsworth said.

"It would just upend my life, and we would be losing one income out of a double-income household.… It would turn our lives right upside down."

The Government of Saskatchewan sent CBC a statement Tuesday afternoon saying it is looking forward to negotiating and signing a new child care agreement with the federal government. 

"We continue to meet and listen to the challenges and concerns from operators, early childhood educators and families from across the province,"  the statement said. 

"An extension of this agreement should include discussions around the feedback received since signing the agreement as well as the long-term sustainability of this program so that we can continue to add spaces and provide benefit Saskatchewan families and operators for years to come."