Alberta daycare operators considering dumping $10-a-day program, association says
Parents across Alberta could be paying more for daycare as early as next month.
That's because some operators are considering opting out of the province’s childcare affordability grant, arguing the current agreement is unfair and unsustainable.
"My program is bleeding money on a monthly basis because I am pulling out of my savings in order to front this grant program," explained Kathryn Babowal of Les Petits Soleils KinderCare in Sherwood Park.
"Honestly, I see this new phase of the contract roll out and I wonder, 'Have you listened?'"
Babowal is not sure she can afford to sign this year’s childcare affordability grant.
In 2022, Ottawa and Alberta signed a deal for $10-a-day daycare.
By 2026, operators were expected to cut prices by 50 per cent and wait to be reimbursed by the province.
Under the 2024 agreement, operators are being asked to cut prices further.
"We’re being asked to fund the government 80 to 100 per cent of our revenue for 40 to 45 days," said Krystal Churcher, chair of the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs.
The association, which represents over 200 daycares, says they’ve raised concerns with the province for two years.
"We haven’t been heard. These issues are not being taken seriously and we are really struggling to just keep the lights on and not sure how to continue past the end of January," Churcher said.
The association wants a new funding model that would give money directly to parents.
Churcher believes more funding is also needed to keep up with inflation.
"I have an open door when it comes to many of those suggestions and I have been getting feedback from operators from right across the province as well as parents on how we can continuously improve the system," said Searle Turton, Alberta's minister of children and family services.
Turton insists the province is still on track to meet the goal of $10-a-day daycare by 2026 and had this warning for operators considering opting out.
"Operators have the chance and the opportunity to remove themselves from this agreement, but they would also have to go back to the same cost control, or cost structure, they had before," he said.
That means parents would be left paying fees in full.
Operators have until Jan. 31 to sign on to the 2024 contract, leaving Babowal with a difficult decision.
"I regret ever signing on to this program in the first place," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. carjacking suspect sped across U.S. border before arrest, police say
Authorities have arrested a suspect who allegedly carjacked a pickup truck in B.C.'s Lower Mainland then sped across the U.S. border, triggering a massive police response.
Alberta premier says federal border plan coming Monday
The much-anticipated federal plan to address issues at the Canada-U.S. border will be unveiled on Monday according to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Ottawa has sold its stake in Air Canada: sources
Two senior federal government sources have confirmed to CTV News that the federal government has sold its stake in Air Canada. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the government purchased a six per cent stake in the airline for $500 million as part of a bailout package.
Premiers disagree on whether Canada should cut off energy supply to U.S. if Trump moves ahead with tariffs
Some of Canada's premiers appeared to disagree with Ontario Premier Doug Ford on his approach to retaliatory measures, less than a day after he threatened to cut off the province's energy supply to the U.S. if president-elect Donald Trump follows through on his threat of punishing tariffs.
'Very concerned': Crews search B.C. ski resort for missing man
Police and rescue crews are searching for a man who was last seen boarding a ski lift at B.C.'s Sun Peaks Resort Tuesday.
Man who set fires inside Calgary's municipal building lost testicle during arrest: ASIRT
Two Calgary police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in an incident that saw a suspect lose a testicle after being shot with an anti-riot weapon.
Blizzard warning shuts down large parts of midwestern Ontario
It was a day to stay home, if you could, across much of midwestern Ontario due to weather.
Travis Vader, killer of Lyle and Marie McCann, denied day parole
The man who killed an Alberta couple in 2010 has been denied day parole.
She took a DNA test for fun. Police used it to charge her grandmother with murder in a cold case
According to court documents, detectives reopened the cold case in 2017 and then worked with a forensics company to extract DNA from Baby Garnet's partial femur, before sending the results to Identifinders International.