Desperation grows for child care spots in Yellowknife
CBC
Good luck finding a childcare space in Yellowknife right now.
As the Northwest Territories rolls out its plan for making child care more affordable and accessible, parents in the city say they're having a harder time than ever finding spaces for their kids.
Indeed, some mothers say spots in the city are so scarce that when their maternity leave ends, they won't be able to return to work.
"I just spoke with my boss yesterday and I'm not going back to work, so that's a major hit, income-wise," said Colleen Wellborn, who's struggling to find a space for her youngest child.
Wellborn said that after the day home she was planning to use had its license suspended, she reached out to around 35 childcare providers in the city.
"I would say 20 of them said that they would not even consider putting you on a waitlist because their waitlist is two years long, and maybe five got back to me and said, 'I'll put you on the list, but it's pretty long,' and then probably 10 never responded at all," she said.
"We have no hope. We have zero hope."
Education, Culture and Employment Minister R.J. Simpson said the territory is up about 170 child care spaces since 2018-19, and that with federal help, it aims to open 300 new spaces by 2026.
But even if the government hit that target tomorrow, and opened all those new spaces in Yellowknife, the city would still be short spots.
The Yellowknife Day Care Association has more than 400 names on its waitlist, and only around 30 spots open up each year.
"The wait list has never been as long as it is," said Mandy Janse van Rensburg, the association's executive director.
The Yellowknife Women's Society, which runs two daycares, caps its waitlist at 100.
Karen Rawson, the organization's director of children and family programs, said she's had to turn away at least 50 families since she maxed out her waitlist in November — seven months earlier than usual.
"Parents are pretty frustrated right now," she said. "I know there are several, several families who will not be able to return to work because there are no options."
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