Saskatchewan is one of only two provinces that has not yet signed a federal agreement for child-care funding.
The other provinces and territories have signed onto a new federal child-care agreement that will see them split nearly $37 billion, extending the program until 2031. Alberta is the other holdout.
In 2021, the federal government announced a $30-billion, five-year child-care plan to create 250,000 new affordable spaces. It said the plan would cut the costs of those spaces to $10 a day by 2025-26, when the federal government began providing a minimum of $9.2 billion annually for the program.
In a statement to the CBC, the Saskatchewan government said that it wants more input from child-care centre operators before making a final decision. It also wants to see the plan address before/after school programs.
“We remain ready to negotiate in good faith before the expiration of the current agreement on March 31, 2026,” the statement said.
It’s probably a legacy of feeling like a rural province that doesn’t really think that mothers are in the labour force in the numbers that they are, and that hasn’t taken family policy very seriously.– Susan Prentice, University of Manitoba
But provincial NDP shadow minister for child care and early learning Joan Pratchler said in a statement Thursday that the government should be “ashamed.”
“The Sask. Party government failed to act on tariffs, refused to join the national school food program, and now they’re ignoring a child-care crisis,” she said.
“Child-care centres, many of which are non-profits, rely on this funding to stay open and support local jobs — especially in rural areas. Without it, families and entire communities will be left scrambling.”
CUPE, which represents child-care workers at several facilities across the province, was also unimpressed by the decision.
“Scott Moe is leaving approximately $1 billion for affordability measures on the table. This decision ultimately hurts families and workers, and will certainly hurt the economy,” said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan, in a news release Thursday.
More than lower fees: expert
On the CBC Radio’s The 306, Susan Prentice, a professor at the University of Manitoba’s Department of Sociology, said that the funding goes beyond just lowering fees.
“It helps to start up new spaces. The federal government also provided capital in addition to operating funding that helps facilities bring the cost down for parents and that helps to increase the quality and keep trained staff in the workforce,” she said.
Prentice said that before the federal program was in place, parents faced higher child-care costs but since the program was implemented, child-care fees have dropped by more than 50 per cent.
She said that Saskatchewan still faces a shortage of child-care spaces compared to other provinces.
“I think it’s probably a legacy of feeling like a rural province that doesn’t really think that mothers are in the labour force in the numbers that they are, and that hasn’t taken family policy very seriously,” Prentice said.
Prentice is hopeful that Saskatchewan will reconsider signing the agreement.
Flagship Trudeau policy
With just days to go before he leaves office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that these deals will ensure the long-term viability of one of his government’s flagship policies.
Becoming visibly emotional as he reflected on his legacy, Trudeau said that he has worked every day to ensure he is putting Canadians first and child care has been one of the ways he has done that.
“In the past few weeks, we have been working with our provincial and territorial partners to make sure that families can rely on this system, not just for years to come, but will allow this to lock in, to become something that no government, a year from now, five years from now, 20 years from now, could ever go back on,” the prime minister said.
