Advocates say Manitoba falling behind in creating accessible child-care spaces

Advocates are using National Day of Action on Child Care to illuminate the need for more child-care spaces and support in Manitoba.

The Child Care Coalition of Manitoba (CCCM) along with the Manitoba Child Care Association (MCCA) said many families spend years on waitlists for licensed daycare providers because of shortages in child care spaces and early childhood educators (ECE).

Susan Prentice, a member of the CCCM, said Manitoba is ahead of schedule when it comes to making child care affordable with $10 a day daycare, but behind in making it accessible.

“We committed to creating 23,000 new preschool spaces by (20)25/26. These spaces are to be primarily not-for-profit and public,” she said, adding this would have doubled the supply that was available at the time the agreement with the government was signed on Aug. 9, 2021.

As of March 31st this year, Prentice said there were only 1,535 new spaces created.

“We still have to create more than 93 per cent of the promised spaces,” Prentice said, saying they have only, “28 months to close this gap.”

Not only are daycare spaces behind schedule for expansion, but zero per cent of them a public, she said — despite the fact that 95 per cent are non-profit.

“We continue to mostly rely on volunteers to run child-care centres, even though we know how important and essential child care is to economic and social infrastructure,” Prentice said, adding that certified staff are needed for efficient daycare expansion.

However, she said Manitoba only graduates about 140 ECEs from the minimum two-year-long program annually.

Lynda Raible, president of the MCCA, said, “It is estimated we short 1,000 early childhood educators.”

She said to meet staffing requirements, the government must invest in the workforce, and urges Manitoba to create a common provincial salary scale, like MCCA’s competitive guideline salary scale.

The recommended wage is $27.90 an hour. Right now, it sits at $20.90, Raible said.

Prentice said “50 per cent of ECEs (need) a second job to make ends meet and people leave the field. That’s where we are losing the most.”

Paid professional development, upgrades to existing facilities and adequate and continual funding to the centres through operating grants are also needed, Raible said, in addition to annually indexed increases to the operating grant.

Since 2016, Raible said those operating grants have only grown two per cent, saying it is not enough.

“The paper towels I order every few months for our centre used to cost us $91.22. Today in 2023, the same paper towel order costs me $173.10. How do I continue to operate in 2023 on the same operating funding I was getting in 2016. What do I cut in my program? How much fundraising do I do to offset inflation?”

The Manitoba Minister of Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, Nello Altomare, announced 40 new child-care spaces in St. Laurent on Thursday.

He says the government will continue to work to provide more child-care spaces and bring in $10-a-day child care for all Manitoba families.

— with files from Global’s Teagan Rasche

2:15 Putting baby in the corner: Manitoba child-care centres lack supply for demand