Today during question period in the Legislature, I asked the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development why Nova Scotians don’t have a clear picture of how many child care spaces are available for their families. Nova Scotian parents are still struggling to find child care, but the Progressive Conservative government will only offer them vague statements about opening new spaces.
You can view the recording below:
Keep reading to see the transcript of my interaction with the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development.
PAUL WOZNEY « » : This government’s framing of child care spaces is lacking for many Nova Scotians. Parents are being told there are more than 7,000 new spaces but in reality, there are less than half that number. Before- and after-school programs are helpful to many families, but they are not the same as full-time accessible child care spaces.
Why is this government conflating the options and confusing families struggling to find reliable child care for their children?
BRENDAN MAGUIRE « » : We have reduced child care fees by 50 percent, Speaker – 50 percent. We just renewed the child care agreement with the federal government, and we fixed the child care agreement that was previously signed. I don’t know if members read the media, but we were just down at Acadia University where we announced new child care spaces at Acadia. Before that, we were at St. Francis Xavier University. We announced spaces at StFX. We’re working tirelessly to create child care spaces for everybody.
PAUL WOZNEY « » : Child Care Now says before- and after-school supervision is a patchwork, not a system. This leaves kids without care for nine weeks every summer and every school break in between. Parents can’t keep their jobs or plan lives around a patchwork system.
How can this government pat itself on the back when it’s failing to deliver the full-time reliable child care that Nova Scotian families need?
BRENDAN MAGUIRE « » : I would ask that that information be tabled. I have yet to read that information from Child Care Now. What I do read is the facts, and the facts are that we’re building more space than ever before. We support our child care sector. We are ahead of where we are – any other province when it comes to creating new child care spaces. This government is investing in families from one end of the province to the other while that party is voting against them.
