Thank you, Mr. Speaker. When Prime Minister Trudeau introduced $10 a day daycare, early learning and childcare became far more affordable for Canadians and for Northerners. This was a game changer for my family and many others in the NWT. For working parents with young children like me and my wife, affordable daycare isn't a luxury; it's a necessity. Now ECE's role in daycare services has significantly expanded and with it, the Minister's responsibility to ensure her department effectively manages partnerships with both day homes and childcare centres, ensuring subsidies and regulations are efficient and effective.
To build a network of quality and consistent affordable childcare in the North, providers must be properly paid, resourced, and trained. Yet day home operators, who are central to childcare delivery, continue to face the same frustrations over and over again: poor communication, rigid micromanagement, and unresponsiveness to their feedback.
Day home operators know best what works for them and their families and where the system is falling short, and what they are telling us is in no uncertain terms is that they do not have the resources they need to provide the quality of child care that Northerners deserve. They were promised annual funding increases, but their support has remained stagnant. Yet they are still expected to provide extra programming, after-hours care, and meals, all without the ability to charge additional fees for these services, unlike operators in other jurisdictions. Staff, meanwhile, are unfairly compensated for their work as day home operators with little recognition for longevity or education. In contrast, the wage grid for centre workers provides step recognition for years of service in the North, education, and Indigenous knowledge. One of the best ways to ensure quality is to reward skill and dedication, but this lack of incentive and recognition instead discourages day home staff and day homes from operating in the North.
Our day home operators are also highlighting a critical gap in childcare. These programs currently only accept children starting at two and a half years old. We need to lower those ages so we can have more infants in care because right now the program is largely based around older kids.
This year, the government gave $3.5 million to childcare centres but day homes are being left behind. They are on the frontline delivering critical services and must be treated as partners in shaping policy --
-- Member from Range Lake, your time is up. Thank you, Member from Range Lake.
Members' statements. Member from Inuvik Boot Lake.
