An advocacy group representing daycares in Alberta says some operators are starting a series of "rolling closures" across the province today to push for changes to the $10-a-day childcare program. Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
CALGARY – An advocacy group representing daycares in Alberta says some operators are starting a series of “rolling closures” across the province today to push for changes to the $10-a-day child-care program.
The Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs says the closures are a direct response to challenges with the program’s implementation.
It says it is threatening the quality and choice of child-care services.
No one from Alberta Children and Family Services could immediately be reached for comment, but the Opposition NDP says operators, parents and advocates have been telling the United Conservative government for years that its formula is broken.
Operators in multiple provinces are threatening to pull out of the national child-care system or even close their doors.
They say the federal-provincial agreements limit the fees they can charge without enough support to cover all their costs.
Federal Families Minister Jenna Sudds says provinces and territories had their “eyes wide open” when they signed on to the program and must make it work.
