Daycare operators in Alberta are facing a looming deadline as they decide whether or not to sign onto the 2024 child care subsidy agreement.
On Thursday, the Association Alberta of Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE) met with the province to discuss the issue.
The association, which represents roughly 250 daycares, says operators have been forced to shoulder additional costs as a result of the program, and it's no longer sustainable for many centres.
Operators say the funding model requires centres to offer care at a subsidized price up front, and wait weeks for provincial reimbursements.
"We're being funded after the end of the month, which is really hard on the cash flow for operators," said Krystal Churcher, chair of AACE.
"We're also looking at some realistic numbers for increases. We've received three per cent increases over the past few years. And anyone who's done some grocery shopping or paid for their utilities realizes that things were raised a lot more than three per cent on a yearly basis."
Chucher says many operators are considering pulling out of the agreement, which would see fees for parents increase substantially.
Natalie Dubbagh says it would be a major financial setback for her family.
The full time health-care worker is the mother of toddler twins.
"We currently pay about $500 a month for daycare fees for my children combined. If they don't sign this agreement it could probably go up to $2,000," she told CTV News Edmonton.
"The only reason why I went back to work was because I could afford daycare. Before the affordability grant it wouldn't have been feasible for me to work full time."
Dubbagh says she wants to see her daycare centre remain in the program, but not at the expense of staff and programming.
"They have daycare staff that have been working there for more than a decade. And they are very well educated and experienced in their field. But it could mean that they're not able to afford stuff like that moving forward."
Searle Turton, the minister for child and family services, says the province has to work within the guidelines set out by the federal government for the program, such as the amount funding can be increased each year.
"At every opportunity we are talking with the federal Liberal government to look at ways that we can increase the amount of flexibility within the agreement to help support private entrepreneurs," Turton said Thursday after the meeting.
"If you want to see this program succeed, you have to be able to give us the resources that we need, so that we can see it through. So that's a conversation I'm having constantly."
Despite the challenges, Turton believes the majority of operators will sign onto the program for another year.
"There's some hiccups and that we have to get through. And I'm not saying that those issues aren't there. And I'm continuously meeting with operators and families to address those outstanding concerns. But as a whole, I think we're on the right track."
For Churcher, seeing operators sign on to the program isn't a victory.
"It will be signing under duress at this point. We were really hoping we could find a solution that would allow us to sign with a feeling that we were all moving forward in the same direction. I don't think we're there."
"We don't want to leave families in a situation where they have no access to child care, or they can't afford the child care that they want. So there's some difficult decisions to be made."
In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, a spokesperson for Canada's family, children and social development minister said the following:
"Provinces and territories have primary responsibility for matters pertaining to education, including the design and delivery of early learning and child care programs and services."
"Any requirements a province or territory may put in place regarding the provision of funding to operators is at their discretion, provided these requirements meet the terms and conditions outlined in the Canada-wide Agreements."
"As such, any specific questions regarding how Alberta is implementing the Canada-wide Agreement, or how it manages fees for child care providers, should be directed to Alberta’s Ministry of Children’s Services."
Daycare operators have until the end of the month to sign on for the 2024 agreement, which will last 15 months.
A spokesperson for YMCA of Northern Alberta, which operates 57 daycares across Edmonton, Wood Buffalo and Grande Prairie, says it will be signing the agreement.
The province has launched a child care program survey for parents.
The survey is available online and will close on Feb. 11.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski
