A four -year term is not enough for the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) to fulfill its promise to give parents the daycare spaces they need. A few more years and a second term will be needed, the Family Minister, Mathieu Lacombe, agreed on Monday at a press conference.
The child care crisis has continued to grow since 2018, with the waiting list exploding to more than 51,000 names, not to mention a massive exodus of educators and the closure of thousands of daycare in the family environment. .
For parents who work nights, evenings or weekends, the situation is even worse, and finding a place in daycare is mission impossible.
For some of them, Minister Lacombe announced on Monday the creation of two pilot projects aimed at offering atypical childcare hours, evenings, nights and weekends. They will last two years.
A 4% bonus
The announcement comes amid a labor shortage, when regularly scheduled daycare centers are already having difficulty finding and maintaining the necessary resources.
The pilot projects follow a survey conducted by the government in activity sectors directly affected by this reality of atypical schedules, such as health.
Educators who receive these special schedules will receive a 4% bonus on their salary.
The announced plan includes costs for community drop-in daycares and drop-in daycares in educational settings. A total of $ 45 million will be allocated to this project, which will spread over three years.
A few more years before all this happens
A day after a demonstration in the streets of Quebec of thousands of parents asking for a place for their child today, Minister Lacombe denied waiting until the very end of the mandate to take an interest in the needs of parents with schedule atypical jobs, and to others by announcing a few months ago its plan to create 37,000 places by 2025.
Certainly the problem was not resolved this morning. True, it will take several years for all of this to happenhe agreed, but parents understand thisaccording to him.
kasi a reform like the one we are undertaking, a promise like the one we are making, takes several years to fulfilladded the minister, who refused to hear that he was there late taken to find a solution to the crisis.
In trade union circles, there is a certain skepticism. Where will the Minister find the staff to carry out this project?asked CSQ vice-president, Line Camerlain.
The Federation of Early Childhood Workers (FIPEQ-CSQ) has requested that flexible hours and bonuses granted be negotiated.
Source: Radio-Canada
