Alberta’s Opposition says the province needs to dip into surplus budget funds to allow child care program operators to keep their doors open during the pandemic.
NDP critic Rakhi Pancholi estimates that the department has about $70 million in unspent funds because lower subsidies are going to child care centres due to COVID-19.
Pancholi says that money needs to be spent now because operators are facing serious financial hardship and may have shut down as other pandemic support programs end.
“My doors will soon be shut permanently if we do not get some government financial assistance real soon,” said Heather Ratsoy, the operator of It’s All About Kids daycare.
Amanda Yu’s child is enrolled in Ratsoy’s child care program and says it would be devastating if it had to close down.
“The day Heather let us know that the daycare was at risk of closure. I cried. This daycare has been one of the few constants in my child’s life for the past 21 months,” Yu explained. “Selfishly, I can’t imagine losing a space here that’s close to our home, and our work, where my child has been safe and well cared for, both before the pandemic, and throughout.”
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Yu says the thought of having to find a new space for her child is overwhelming, stressful and unfair.
“The thought of the staff here losing their jobs. It’s heartbreaking.
“But this is bigger than just my family. Daycare spaces downtown were hard to come by before the pandemic. We chose the daycare because of their 20 plus years of experience, that kind of high-quality child care space, and the staff to support it, aren’t just created overnight.”
Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz says enrolment numbers are going up, which means more parents will access the subsidy programs and expenditure costs will rise.
She says it’s premature to comment on unused funds with almost five months left in the fiscal year.
Schulz also announced $15 million of bilateral child care money from the federal government to help support daycare works through COVID-19.
Pancholi labelled the announcement a last-minute, ineffective deflection.
She says the bilateral money comes with rules that can’t address the immediate crisis because it can’t be used for things such as rent or wages.
