Government has made a mess of child care in Newfoundland and Labrador

Like other provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador has signed on to the Trudeau government’s national $10-per-day child-care program. And like other provinces, the results have not been good—despite claims made in the Furey government’s Department of Education annual report.

For example, in the past year the Furey government clarified payment schedules for its Operating Grant Program, which is a key component of its agreement with Ottawa to deliver $10-per-day child care. Yet in the summer, stories emerged that government was late in delivering Operating Grant payments to many child-care providers. One operator who received her grants late told the CBC she knows of child-care providers who considered closing their centres altogether because of payment delays.

Next, the provincial government says it developed and implemented various workforce strategies to increase the number of trained professionals in the child-care sector. But what have been the results? A survey in November 2023 completed by more than 520 early childhood educators in the province found 45 per cent are considering leaving the profession due to lack of recognition, 42 per cent due to low wages, and 25 per cent due to working conditions.

Unsurprisingly, in recent months news stories have highlighted concerns from child-care professionals and industry activists about staff retention in the sector. For example, in an interview in August, a board member with the activist group Child Care Now explained to the CBC how the child-care industry was unattractive to new workers; back in April another representative with the same organization declared there was a “workforce shortage” in child care and the provincial government was failing to address it properly.

Returning to the Department of Education report, the government touts its new online platform “to help improve access” to child care and provides an avenue for residents to submit information if they suspect a child-care service is not adhering to regulations. But again, what have been the results? Aspiring child-care providers in the province say red tape prevents them setting up daycares; meanwhile a provincial government survey found 68 per cent of 2,621 survey respondents attempted to find child care but were unable to secure a spot.

Many parents were giving up their jobs because they could not work while remaining stuck on daycare waitlists, the CBC reported, and out of the 2,621 survey respondents, more than 800 were stuck on more than five waitlists. If the Furey government’s goal was to improve child-care access, the results have been very poor indeed. Statistics Canada found in 2023, 67 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador families using child care had difficulty finding it—worse than any other province—while child-care attendance fell 20 per cent over four years.

The data all point to declining access in the province, despite any government claims.