Province urged to halt child-care changes

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This article was published 10/08/2020 (1501 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Child Care Association is asking the province to hit the pause button on the implementation of a host of new child-care regulations.

It says it is unrealistic to pursue comprehensive changes to early childhood education during a pandemic. It noted the Pallister government placed its K-12 education review on indefinite hold in May due to COVID-19.

“During the middle of a pandemic it’s hard for us to focus on navigating in our new world as it is, let alone trying to understand the new regulatory changes,” said MCCA executive director Jodie Kehl.

The province has prepared 30 pages of proposed changes to the province’s child-care regulations. It has given the public until today to provide feedback online.

Kehl said the association has questions about a number of the proposed regulations. It has sent a formal letter to Families Minister Heather Stefanson, seeking clarification, but has yet to receive a response.

“None of us (in early childhood education) know what our role is going to look like two months from now, three months from now, a year from now,” said Kehl. “So the thought of trying to process what regulatory changes might impact — it’s hard to make those predictions right now.”

Child care proponents say the system is chronically underfunded. Operating grants to child care facilities have been frozen by the Pallister government since 2016. Affordability is also a big issue for many parents, they say.

The province has proposed repealing enhanced funding for nursery schools and appears to be supporting a two-tier fee system, child care advocates say. Also of concern in the proposals, they say, are changing criteria for funding eligibility for children with exceptional additional support needs.

On Tuesday, the provincial Liberals slammed the government’s child care proposals, saying the changes will dump more costs on parents who can ill afford it.

“If the (Progressive Conservatives) are truly committed to reopening the economy they need to realize that one of the single biggest roadblocks to going back to work is access to child care,” party leader Dougald Lamont told a news conference.

He introduced parent and early childhood educator Kisa MacIsaac, who has worked in a publicly funded non-profit inner city early learning and child care program for 15 years. She said governments ought to realize that investments in early childhood education pay big dividends, such as higher high school graduation rates, lower crime rates and better long-term mental health.

“The answer is not to raise fees,” MacIsaac said. “The answer is to raise (child care) quality.”

Ross Romaniuk, a spokesman for Stefanson, said there has been “no effort” to rush the proposed regulatory changes.

“They allow for the proclamation of legislation we passed two years ago, and the MCCA was consulted extensively by the government on that legislation. The changes will improve access to child care by reducing red tape for child-care providers, which is why there is no reason to delay them,” he said in an email.

In a rare move, Stefanson issued a political statement in a government press release (as opposed to a PC party release) slamming the opposition parties for spreading “misinformation” about the government’s position on child care.

“We are not reducing funding for child care in Manitoba — in fact we continue to make significant investments in child care including nearly $70 million since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the minister said.

In fact, she said, “the supply of child care has now exceeded demand” and that there are now over 3,500 vacant child care spaces in Manitoba.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca