Feds call for child care funding for Alberta

The federal government is calling out Alberta over disagreements with daycare operators over the implementation of a $10-a-day childcare program — funding Ottawa says is available but Alberta isn't using it.

Jenna Sudds, federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, said Wednesday that Alberta has spent only half of the money allocated to the national early learning and child care program, adding that “the dollars are there” for child care operators in the province.

“We've made a commitment to all the provinces and territories and we hope to continue to work with them to ensure it's a success,” he said. “There are clauses in our agreement that the provinces are expected to meet and there are consequences when they don't.”

In a statement to CityNews, Ashley Barrett, spokesperson for the Minister of Children and Family Services, explained why Alberta has some money left in the pot.

“The transfer is the result of the province signing the Canada-Alberta-Canada Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Since the agreement was signed in November 2021, at the end of the financial year, only a quarter of the total funds for 2021-22 have been used,” he said. “Once the funding formula is fully implemented, the federal-provincial child care agreement will be underfunded and Alberta intends to use the future to minimize the federal government's funding shortfall.”

Barrett also said that in addition to federal funding, Alberta has invested $786 million in child care initiatives starting in 2021.

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And the Alberta Daycare Operators Association says these blame games don't address the underlying problem.

“If the federal and provincial governments can't stop playing ping pong about who's to blame, it's all going to affect the parents, everyone in the government will show they want to care,” said Catherine Babowal, a kindergarten worker. Director and Board Member of the Alberta Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs (AACE).

“I want all levels of government to work together to find solutions,” he added.

Last week, the Alberta Child Care Business Association held an in-depth meeting with Premier Danielle Smith to address differences in the implementation of Alberta's $10-a-day federal day care program.

Now they say they are waiting for Smith's promised solutions.

“We've been contacted by every province in the country as a community, explaining that they share many of the concerns we've mentioned, seeing comparable situations in their provinces,” Babowal said. “And there's a lot of opportunity to build alliances at the national level in relation to the cost of this campaign.”