'Rolling childcare closures' could be coming to Alberta, association warns
Frustrated by daycare subsidy agreements, an association representing 30,000 childcare spaces in Alberta warned Friday that rolling closures may be coming to a daycare near you.
The Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE) has been publicly raising concerns for weeks about how operators are being paid by the provincial government.
"We're not looking to disrupt the lives of parents or upset anyone," AACE Chair Krystal Churcher told CTV News Edmonton.
"As operators, our main concern has always been the quality of care, and children, and we're not feeling that's being represented in the program, federally or provincially."
Churcher called the closures "a last resort." She wouldn't disclose how many childcare centres could be closing, when that may start, or place a dollar figure on how much additional funding her association is seeking.
"I think at any time we may see closures of any of those spaces. But we're always hoping that's not where we end up," Churcher said.
"Maybe a small disruption to the system would bring the awareness that parents need to really become educated on the concerns for this program."
The association has three main issues: the amount of time it takes Alberta to pay, rates that have been frozen below inflation and accounting costs that are shouldered by providers.
The AACE called the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) Agreement, better known as $10/day daycare, an "underfunded and poorly developed government program."
Churcher is calling for Alberta to intervene with emergency funding to help keep daycares open but also doubts the long-term viability of $10/day systems.
"Things are costing so much more, and inflation rates are so much higher…What can you actually buy for $10?" she asked.
"I don't see that it's going to be a successful program unless we stop and rebuild it in a way that makes sense for our province and our families in Alberta."
Chucher said operators feel "caught in the middle" between Alberta and Ottawa, and are being squeezed by a formula that doesn't add up for them.
Last month, a daycare operator in Sherwood Park said her business is "bleeding money" and she wished she never signed onto the $10/day daycare plan.
At the time, the province's minister for children and family services said he had an "open door" to finding solutions with operators, but Churcher said that hasn't resulted in any solutions.
In a Friday afternoon statement to CTV News Edmonton, Alberta's Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton said the vast majority of child care operators in the province are happy with the current agreement.
"It is disappointing that the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs, which represents approximately 10 per cent of child care operators in the province, is choosing to scare families by threatening to disrupt their lives and livelihoods, instead of engaging in good faith on the development of a new early learning and child care funding formula," he wrote.
Turton said the government has already committed to a three-per-cent-per-year funding increase, $27.2 million in one-time grants, $12.4 million this year to assist with financial reporting requirements, as well as wage top-ups, incentives, subsidies and professional development funding.
CTV News Edmonton has also reached out to the federal government for reaction to this story.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
2 charged after police find 'concerning and diverse' explosives at Manitoba home
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Spain abolishes national bullfighting award in cultural shift
Spain scrapped an annual bullfighting award on Friday, prompting a rebuke from conservatives over a backlash against a centuries-old tradition they see as an art form but which has run into growing concern for animal welfare.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.