Clarenville childcare closure a sign of lacklustre childcare strategy

For Immediate Release

December 17, 2013

Clarenville childcare closure a sign of lacklustre childcare strategy

St. John’s—News that another childcare centre in the province is closing due to a shortage of Early Childhood Educators is unfortunate but not surprising according to St. John’s North MHA Dale Kirby.   

“Last year we saw a childcare centre close its doors after more than 30 years of providing childcare in Labrador West due to an ECE staff shortage and now working families in Clarenville have been hit,” says Kirby. “These problems will not go away until government gets serious about addressing early learning and care deficits.” 

Kirby points out that Early Childhood Educators in Newfoundland and Labrador are among the lowest paid in Canada and public spending on childcare is also amongst the lowest in the country. Last month the Jimmy Pratt Foundation and its partners released a discussion paper calling for the fast-tracking of the province’s child care plan to full implementation by 2016 in order to better pay, recruit, and retain Early Childhood Educators.

“Government’s current childcare strategy will not be fully phased in until 2022,” says Kirby. “By that time, two generations of children will have gone without the full benefit of its impact. This snail-like pace is not good enough for working families who need childcare now.”

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For more information, please contact:

Dale Kirby, MHA

dalekirby@gov.nl.ca

Tel: 709-729-6921