Sask. child-care workers concerned about future as $10-a-day daycare extension remains unsigned

Daycare operators in Saskatchewan say the future will remain uncertain for their businesses and employees as long as the province doesn't sign on to extend the federal government's $10-a-day child-care program.

Ottawa orchestrated a five-year deal in 2021 with the goal of creating 250,000 new affordable child-care spaces across the country. Saskatchewan and every other province signed on to the deal.

The funding agreement is set to expire in March 2026. Saskatchewan and Alberta remain the only provinces to not renew the program

"It's scary right now in the sector. We don't know if we're going to have jobs and we don't know if we're going to have child-care spaces that are affordable for families in Saskatchewan," Cara Warner of the Southeast Saskatchewan Directors Association said on Monday.

The organization, which represents 25 daycare centres, believes that if the federal funding agreement disappear some operators will close their doors, Warner said.

Warner admitted that the current program is not perfect — it launched without having the infrastructure established to support it, ages are low, and there is a lack of dental and health insurance for workers.

"But if we don't have funding, there's no way to continue on and fix the model that we do have," Warner said.

On Monday during question period in the provincial legislature, Education Minister Everett Hindley defended the government's decision to not yet sign on to the program extension.

NDP child-care and early learning critic Joan Pratchler asked why a program that other provinces and territories recently signed on to is not good enough for Saskatchewan. The latest agreement will see provinces and territories split nearly $37 billion and extend the program until 2031.

Premier Scott Moe has previously said he believes the province will eventually sign on, but Hindley said the province is continuing to negotiate the terms.

Hindley pointed to other provinces, such as Nova Scotia, that have recently asked for amendments to the deals they just signed.

Nova Scotia has specifically asked for the inclusion of for-profit operators in the program, something Hindley said Saskatchewan also wants addressed.

"Why wouldn't we as the province of Saskatchewan, before entering into an agreement, make sure that we are covering off these sorts of issues and identifying what would be the best path going forward for our province?" Hindley said.

Warner said the federal election will likely delay a decision until at least late April, but urged the province to sign the deal to provide workers with certainty and then work the specifics out later.