Parents can’t be left in the dark on reopening plans

HALIFAX -- With many businesses reopening following months of shut down due to COVID-19, parents continue to be left in the dark about how they can return to work without child care, including care for school aged children.

Public health and safety must be at the forefront of the plans for how everything reopens, but without support for child care, many workers and business owners will not be able to return to work.

“The issue of child care is an essential part of re-opening the economy,” said Claudia Chender, NDP spokesperson for Education and Early Childhood Development and Business. “We have parents throughout the province struggling with plans for child care for the next three months, but the Liberal government seems uninterested in doing anything to support them. People need to know what child care supports are going to be available - whether that’s more child care spaces, day camps, or financial aid - before they can return to work or re-open their businesses.”

Businesses that were closed by the Public Health Order will be able to begin opening as early as Friday, June 5. However many have already expressed they won’t be ready to fully reopen by that date. Child care workers have raised many concerns about reopening child care centres, including staff to child ratios, and access to appropriate PPE. The Liberal government has not addressed these concerns.

QUOTES:

• “Lack of child care support has been a primary barrier for me when planning to reopen and it was one of the reasons we had to close, full stop, when COVID-19 started,” said Michelle Engel, co-owner and manager of Fancy Pants Cafe in Bridgewater. “I will not be able to fully reopen at the end of this week because people, including myself, just don’t have the availability to work full time while also dealing with child care needs. It’s clear that child care in Nova Scotia hasn’t been a priority before the pandemic and it isn’t a priority now.”
• “I don’t feel like business owner/operators, farm families, or self-employed people are being recognized. We don’t have an employer to work this out with and for me, we don’t want to put other family members at more risk,” said Amy VanderHeide, co-creator of Maritime Ag Women’s Network. “It seems like the government is not taking into account the impact on families and especially women. I work on a family farm and for us it means stretching our budget to cover child care for the next three months for three school aged children.”
• “We want young families in Nova Scotia, and we want them to be able to work. But we can’t do that without child care,” said Katie Keddy co-creator of Maritime Ag Women's Network. “The lack of understanding from the government about the impact this is having on families and women specifically is frustrating. Child care hasn’t been valued as an important part of our economy but it’s even more clear now how vital it is.”

QUICK FACTS:

• According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 56 per cent of workers in caring, clerical, catering, cashiering, and cleaning positions are women.
• According to Statistics Canada, in 2015, 62 per cent of women aged 25 to 54 in Canada had a child under the age of 13 in the household, and/or served as a caregiver to family members and friends.
• Regulated child care centres were closed on March 17. They are slated to re-open as early as June 15.
• All schools have been closed since Friday, March 13 and school programming will finish Friday, June 5.

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