'We know that it can be done': Advocates press N.S. to create centralized daycare waitlist

Celina Aalders · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Nova Scotia's Official Opposition and child-care advocates are renewing their calls for the provincial authorities to instrumentality a centralized daycare waitlist — a strategy that's been adopted by the different Atlantic provinces. 

As it stands, parents successful Nova Scotia who are trying to find kid attraction indispensable use to idiosyncratic centres crossed the province. Since the bulk of licensed child-care centres are astatine capacity, astir families indispensable motion up for aggregate waitlists hoping to yet unafraid a spot. For galore parents, this process starts during pregnancy. 

"Parents are endlessly calling daycares, being enactment connected dozens of waitlists and fixed nary wide timelines connected erstwhile their kid volition unafraid a spot," said NDP MLA Suzy Hansen past week during question play astatine the House of Assembly. 

Hansen asked Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development Brendan Maguire whether helium would make a centralized waitlist, pointing retired that helium had advocated for 1 successful caller years erstwhile helium was a Liberal MLA. 

But Maguire did not accidental outright whether this is thing the Houston authorities is looking at. 

"We're going to proceed to enactment to guarantee that everybody has entree to daycare," helium said, pointing to the much than 6,500 child-care spaces the state has created since it signed a $605-million bilateral statement with the national government in 2021. 

In a followup email, Maguire's section told CBC News it is successful the process of processing a "modern IT strategy to enactment the transportation of aboriginal learning and child-care services" that "could see a co-ordinated registration and waitlist."

Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador person each moved toward a provincial waitlist. Spokespeople for each state told CBC News they wanted to summation transparency for parents, and assistance immoderate of the administrative load disconnected some parents and child-care providers. 

Having conscionable 1 database is besides commonplace successful Quebec, and immoderate municipalities successful Ontario.

Newfoundland and Labrador launched its "early learning gateway" in outpouring 2024. It's a integer waitlist wherever families tin motion up for assorted centres, and person updates connected wherever they stand. There are presently astir 6,000 kids connected the list, according to Minister of Education Krista Howell.

"It's inactive not a metallic slug to hole each of the [child-care] issues by immoderate means, but we bash person a overmuch greater knowing of what the existent request is close now," she said in an interview. "We're precise blessed with the mode that this is unfolding."

She said the website has so relieved immoderate of that load from parents, including she herself who is successful enactment to get a spot for her seven-month-old baby.

"Every mates of days I'm getting an email that says, 'A new centre has opened up here. Have a look.' You tin motion successful and spot wherever your kid whitethorn beryllium connected a peculiar waitlist … I'm inactive a ways retired yet," she said. 

It's not wide precisely what a waitlist would look similar successful Nova Scotia, but advocates accidental it should beryllium designed to instrumentality the load disconnected daycare centres and parents.

Hansen said successful an interrogation that Nova Scotia should look to different provinces to spot what's moving and what's not. Similarly to Howell, she argues that a centralized daycare waitlist would springiness the authorities and the nationalist a amended knowing of precisely however galore radical are retired determination successful request of kid care. 

Beth Towler, enforcement manager of Wee Care Developmental Centre successful Halifax, said determination are astir 500 children connected her waitlist. 

She would similar to spot the process streamlined and tally by the state to let her workers to absorption connected kid care, arsenic opposed to the administrative enactment that comes with managing specified a agelong database of families. 

She said she besides witnesses a batch of anxious parents who are hopeless to find a spot, galore of whom volition repeatedly call, email oregon adjacent amusement up astatine the centre to spot wherever they stand. 

Kenya Thompson with Child Care Now Nova Scotia said that 1 situation she could foresee with a provincewide registry would beryllium ensuring that children get due accommodations wherever needed. She said parents would request to person the quality to bespeak whether their kid has analyzable needs oregon circumstantial taste requirements, for example.

However, she said wide it would beryllium a affirmative measurement toward creating a afloat accessible, non-profit child-care system, which is portion of the province's statement with Ottawa. 

"We cognize that it tin beryllium done … we tin look to our neighbours and spot the exemplary that they've been practising," said Thompson. 

Pam Aucoin, enforcement manager of aboriginal learning and kid attraction with Nova Scotia's Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, said successful January 2024 that the thought of a waitlist was being looked at, though she had reservations astir however effectual it would be. 

In its email Thursday to CBC News, the section said the needs of Nova Scotians are astatine the bosom of the forthcoming IT system. The enactment is being driven by feedback from providers, families, educators and others, it said.

"Our imaginativeness is to make a azygous constituent of introduction for providers, families, and aboriginal puerility educators, that volition integrate with different systems presently utilized by the section and providers."