A baby and staff member play inside the infant area at Prince Albert Co-operative Childcare Association. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Craddock

CHILD CARE

Province to provide 601 new child care spaces across Saskatchewan

Dec 6, 2021 | 11:14 AM

Over 600 new childcare centre spaces are being set aside thanks to a partnership between the provincial and federal governments.

The province announced Monday that 601 new spaces are being created across a total of 20 communities, including Prince Albert, North Battleford, Humboldt, Vicount and Saskatoon.

“We know that access to childcare can be more difficult in some communities,” said Education Minister Dustin Duncan. “By providing child care spaces regardless of where people live, our government is ensuring Saskatchewan families can have access to affordable, high quality early learning and child care should they choose to use these services.”

The province said this announcement is the first step in a commitment to increase the number of regulated childcare spaces by 6,000 in 2021-2022 and by 28,000 over the next five years.​

In August, the federal and provincial governments announced the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Agreement which aims to reduce childcare fees by 50 per cent in 2022 and eventually to $10 a day by 2025.

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“Growing quality spaces is a critical part of our Canada-wide early learning and childcare system,” said Canada’s Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould. “That is why we are working with the Government of Saskatchewan to help ensure that children and families across the province have access to the high-quality, affordable, and inclusive early learning and child care they need to succeed.”​

Over 1,900 child care centre spaces have been allocated across Saskatchewan since the signing of the first Federal ELCC Agreement in March 2018. With the addition of these spaces, the province will have sent funding for 7,771 new spaces since 2007 — a nearly 84 per cent increase.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock