Saskatchewan one of two provinces holding out on signing new federal child-care deal

Aishwarya Dudha · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 9:59 AM EST | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Saskatchewan is 1 of lone 2 provinces that has not yet signed a national statement for child-care funding. 

The different provinces and territories have signed onto a caller national child-care agreement that volition spot them divided astir $37 billion, extending the programme until 2031. Alberta is the different holdout.

In 2021, the national authorities announced a $30-billion, five-year child-care program to make 250,000 caller affordable spaces. It said the program would chopped the costs of those spaces to $10 a time by 2025-26, erstwhile the national authorities began providing a minimum of $9.2 cardinal annually for the program.

In a connection to the CBC, the Saskatchewan authorities said that it wants much input from child-care centre operators earlier making a last decision. It besides wants to spot the plan address before/after schoolhouse programs.

"We stay acceptable to negociate successful bully religion earlier the expiration of the existent statement connected March 31, 2026," the connection said.

But provincial NDP shadow curate for kid attraction and aboriginal learning Joan Pratchler said successful a connection Thursday that the authorities should beryllium "ashamed."

"The Sask. Party authorities failed to enactment connected tariffs, refused to articulation the nationalist schoolhouse nutrient program, and present they're ignoring a child-care crisis," she said.

"Child-care centres, galore of which are non-profits, trust connected this backing to enactment unfastened and enactment section jobs — particularly successful agrarian areas. Without it, families and full communities volition beryllium near scrambling."

CUPE, which represents child-care workers astatine respective facilities crossed the province, was besides unimpressed by the decision. 

"Scott Moe is leaving astir $1 billion for affordability measures connected the table. This determination yet hurts families and workers, and volition surely wounded the economy," said Kent Peterson, president of CUPE Saskatchewan, successful a quality merchandise Thursday. 

More than little fees: expert

On the CBC Radio's The 306, Susan Prentice, a prof astatine the University of Manitoba's Department of Sociology, said that the backing goes beyond conscionable lowering fees. 

"It helps to commencement up caller spaces. The national authorities besides provided superior successful summation to operating backing that helps facilities bring the outgo down for parents and that helps to summation the prime and support trained unit successful the workforce," she said. 

Prentice said that earlier the national programme was successful place, parents faced higher child-care costs but since the programme was implemented, child-care fees person dropped by much than 50 per cent.

She said that Saskatchewan inactive faces a shortage of child-care spaces compared to different provinces. 

"I deliberation it's astir apt a bequest of feeling similar a agrarian state that doesn't truly deliberation that mothers are successful the labour unit successful the numbers that they are, and that hasn't taken household argumentation precise seriously," Prentice said. 

Prentice is hopeful that Saskatchewan volition reconsider signing the agreement.

Flagship Trudeau policy

With conscionable days to spell earlier helium leaves office, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that these deals volition guarantee the semipermanent viability of 1 of his government's flagship policies.

Becoming visibly affectional arsenic helium reflected connected his legacy, Trudeau said that helium has worked each time to guarantee helium is putting Canadians archetypal and kid attraction has been 1 of the ways helium has done that.

"In the past fewer weeks, we person been moving with our provincial and territorial partners to marque definite that families tin trust connected this system, not conscionable for years to come, but volition let this to fastener in, to go thing that nary government, a twelvemonth from now, 5 years from now, 20 years from now, could ever spell backmost on," the premier curate said.