NDP calls on government to ensure smooth transition to universal child care

HALIFAX– The Nova Scotia NDP is calling on the Houston government to ensure that changes to child care are made with more cooperation and consultation. The transition underway will create more spaces and reduce fees for parents. However, the hasty implementation is causing confusion and concerns for families, early childhood educators (ECEs), and operators.

“Child care is an essential service and we need a system that is affordable for all families that need it. When affordable child care is readily available, everyone benefits - the children, parents, workers, and the economy as a whole,” said NDP Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson Suzy Hansen. “There needs to be a well-planned process to transition the sector in consultation with child care providers to ensure that centres are able to make informed decisions and families continue to have access to care.”

In Nova Scotia about half of centre-based child care spaces are in private centres, with the other half operated by non-profit organizations. For many years the sector has struggled with a shortage of child care spaces, high parent fees, low wages for ECEs and insufficient grant-based funding.

“The Conservatives announced a program without working with families, child care operators and early childhood educators to make sure that the transition will be successful,” said NDP Leader Gary Burrill. “For the last number of years child care providers have faced challenges created by the rushed implementation of pre-primary, and by the COVID-19 pandemic. We need more support for child care providers, not a process that could disrupt the sector further.”

The NDP Caucus strongly supports the move to a universal, affordable, publicly funded child care system. Other jurisdictions have provided examples of successful transitions that respect the role private operators have played in the sector for many years. When PEI established Early Years Centres, private child care operators were given access to funding and support to retire their licenses or transition into the non-profit system.

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