Many families in Saskatchewan are feeling the pressures of rising costs and the continued uncertainty, and the government having yet to sign on for the federal $10 day child care agreement is only increasing worry.
“It just makes such a big impact on whether families can go back to work or whether they have to make the choice to stay home,” said Samantha Addley, a parent.
“Because it’s $10 a day, I don’t have any stress about going back to work. (And) we’re able to put (our son) in extracurriculars.”
Addley says the lack of action from the government is “extremely stressful” and she is not sure why the government has not signed the agreement yet.
“I’ve done a lot of research trying to figure out why. And it just seems like they haven’t had a very good answer for why they’re delaying it. And especially with only two provinces in Canada that haven’t signed it yet, like, it just makes it seem so unwelcoming for families in Saskatchewan.”
Addley mentions she knows that the child-care system in the province is not perfect and understands that getting a spot at a child-care facility can be challenging but the government should be working on fixing that and reducing barriers instead of putting more up.
“It is very challenging to get in, and I think that the government should be doing more to help support spaces available rather than making it more difficult.”
Jerrelei Sabri, a Saskatoon daycare operator, says not signing onto this agreement will make child care unaffordable for “most of the people in Saskatchewan.”
“That one is alarming for us daycare operators, too, because if this doesn’t get extended, then we lose some clients,” Sabri said, “because more and more parents will just rather stay at home (and) take care of their kids than paying that amount of money.
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At a press conference on Thursday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Child Care Now Saskatchewan expressed their criticism of the government and Premier Scott Moe’s lack of decisive action.
Sue Delanoy, chapter chair for Child Care Now Saskatchewan, says Premier Moe states that he is working with the federal government in negotiations, but Delanoy says “there’s nothing to negotiate.”
She believes that is a way of justifying the delay in decision, she added.
“That’s a stall tactic. They’re showing their cards (and) it’s not helping children and families,” said Delanoy.
“(The Saskatchewan government is) waiting to see which (federal) government gets in and I’m worried if it’s a Conservative government, they will skip the program. If it’s a Liberal government, we know that it will go forward.”
Delanoy stresses signing this agreement is a “no-brainer.”
“There isn’t much of a good reason not to sign on to it.”
Delanoy also addressed the large wait-lists and challenges to get into a child-care facility.
“The wait lists, I know some people have said that’s a negative of the program — that’s a positive of the program. What this government has failed to do is create enough spaces that they said that they would help us do.”
Kent Peterson, CUPE Saskatchewan President said he is not surprised to see that our government has not signed into the agreement.
“It’s not a coincidence that the last two premiers in this country to sign onto this child care framework extension agreement is Daniel Smith and Scott Moe. These are two ideological premiers who don’t believe in publicly universal, accessible child care.”
Peterson echoes Delanoy’s suspicions about the delay relating to the upcoming federal election.
“He hopes that he can drag his feet long enough to a federal election. And he’s hoping for a Conservative majority government so that he doesn’t have to provide publicly available, accessible child care,” Peterson said. “That’s what’s going on here.”
Peterson stresses this decision should not be in the hands of only one person, the premier.
“We have kids, families, parents and workers who are relying on the extension of these agreements, and it’s time to get the deal inked today, tomorrow at the latest,” said Peterson.
“Now is the time for common sense child care, not ideology.”
Global News has reached out to the Government of Saskatchewan for direct response to the comments made by Peterson and Delanoy and did not receive response by the time of publishing.
However, in a press conference on Wednesday, Moe said he expects the government to sign on to the agreement soon but want to work out the details with the federal government first.
“Some of (the federal government’s) focus is forward. Ours is to expand the number of spaces that are available across the province. And so, we’re in those negotiations,” Moe said.
“We weren’t able to complete those negotiations in the two-week timeline that the federal government had given the provinces. But we expect to sign on, and we sign on as soon as we’re able to have all of the initiatives and questions that we have addressed by the federal government.”