MONTREAL – The Quebec government hopes that its new centralized waiting list will help beleaguered parents unable to find a $7-a-day daycare spot.
Quebec’s Family Minister Nicole Léger announced Thursday morning that in a year, the Parti Quebecois expects to launch a provincial, centralized waiting list that will allow parents to register their children online for publicly-subsidized daycare.
“Not a day goes by where parents do not tell us about the difficulty they have finding a spot. Now the Parti Quebecois government is answering their demand,” said Léger during the announcement, made at a daycare in Longueuil.
“Eventually, there will only be one step to sign up their child for all daycares that offer $7-a-day spots in Quebec.”
Get daily National news
Within the next week, a call for bids will be launched and then companies will have until November 15 to submit a proposal. The government hopes to select a contractor by the end of the year.
The service will be free and parents should be able to track the status of their application. Other logistical considerations include ensuring siblings are at the same daycare and transferring parents’ details from existing regional systems.
CPEs and private subsidized daycares will be required to use the system in order to fill their eligible spots. At the moment, these centres are not required to participate in any of the existing regional waiting lists.
Private daycares will not be required to use the system.
The government is hoping that the centralized list will give an accurate snapshot of the overall child-care situation in Quebec, revealing the varying needs of each region.
Léger confirmed that parents should be able access the centralized waiting list by June 2014.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.