UWSA day care announcement
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Plan Includes Lower Fees, 12,000 More Spaces,
Better Wages, More Training: Premier Selinger
The province is taking the next steps in creating a universally accessible child-care system for Manitoba families that will include lower fees, 12,000 more spaces, increased training and better wages for early childhood educators, Premier Greg Selinger announced today at the UWSA day care centre on the University of Winnipeg campus.
UWSA president Peyton Veitch with Kerri Irvin-Ross, Minister of Healthy Living
“We are committed to ensuring families who need child care will have access to high-quality, licensed, affordable and publicly funded spaces,” Premier Selinger said. “At the same time, we will be supporting good wages and training opportunities for the workforce and an early learning curriculum that enriches children and reaches underserved areas.”
The premier said the province is basing its long-term strategy on the report released today by the Early Learning and Child Care Commission. The premier said the plan includes:
- exploring making child care more affordable for families by implementing a subsidy and a sliding scale on child-care fees;
- phasing out all fees paid by fully subsidized families;
- ensuring that child-care centres continue to hire and retain the best workers by phasing in a provincial wage scale beginning Sept. 1;
- working with post-secondary institutions to double training opportunities for child-care workers through full-time college programs, workplace training and expanded dual-credit programs in high schools; and
- investing in training supports for low-income Indigenous and newcomer Manitobans;
Premier Selinger said the province will explore a key proposal by the commission that school divisions be responsible for school-age child care. Seven Oaks and Seine River school divisions will work with government to pilot expanded child-care programming for school-age children, the premier added.
Enjoying UWSA day care
Independent consultants Kathleen Flanagan and Jane Beach completed the Early Learning and Child Care Commission’s analysis of Manitoba’s current child-care system and proposed innovative strategies to build a universally accessible ELCC system.
The premier said the measures announced today will result in the creation of 12,000 new spaces in public buildings, such as schools, post-secondary institutions, housing developments, health and social-services facilities, and where other childhood development services are located.
Premier Selinger also announced $25 million in new funding to be dedicated to building and expanding early learning and child-care centres in schools.
The premier said 308 new spaces are being supported through the Family Choices Building fund as part of the commitment to fund 900 new spaces this year, including:
- up to 32 spaces at the University of Winnipeg Student Association Inc. Day Care.
- up to 100 new spaces at 51 Balmoral St., operated by the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg Inc.;
- up to 90 new spaces at the Growing Minds Child Care Centre Inc. in St. Adolphe;
- up to 54 new spaces at the University of Manitoba’s Campus Day Care Centre Inc.;
- up to 32 new spaces at Ka Ni Kanichihk Inc. Daycare; and
“A core part of our mission at the University of Winnipeg is to support non-traditional learners, including adults with families. Having affordable day-care spaces that are easily accessible right on our campus is a critically important part of that support,” said Dr. Annette Trimbee, president and vice-chancellor, UWinnipeg. “We are pleased to be expanding the UWSA day-care centre, which serves our students as well as the surrounding community.”
“The University of Winnipeg’s Student Association Day Care is the reason I was able to return to University,” said Kim Bhathal-Paz, third-year student, integrated education program. “I am so excited for all the possibilities that will flow from the expansion plans that will provide positive changes in the lives of both students and their families.”
Funding for affordable, public child care has nearly tripled to $162.9 million since 1999, now supporting more than 33,100 spaces, the premier said. In this time, the province established a capital building fund, introduced a pension plan, increased wages for early childhood educators, introduced age-appropriate curricula and enhanced quality programming for pre-school children.
“We thank the commission for its recommendations and look forward to working with schools, parents, child-care providers and the federal government to protect our public, non-profit child-care model,” said Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross. “We know that by investing in early childhood education and child care, more hard-working families will get the supports they need and our children will thrive.”
The minister added that as part of commitments under Family Choices to ensure a consistent and user-friendly child-care system, the Manitoba government has launched a redeveloped early learning and child-care website, making it easier for families, early learning and child-care providers, and students and the workforce to find the information they need quickly and easily. The website will continue to be enhanced to meet the needs of users, Minister Irvin-Ross said.
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