Feds call out Alberta over unused daycare funds

The federal government is calling out Alberta over differences with daycare operators regarding the implementation of the $10 a day affordable childcare program — as Ottawa says funding is there, but Alberta is not using it.

Jenna Sudds, federal minister of families, children and social development said Wednesday that Alberta spent just half of the money it was given for the national early learning and childcare program, adding that the “the dollars are there” for childcare operators in the province.

“We have made a commitment to all provinces and territories and we expect to continue to work with them to ensure it’s successful,” she said. “There are certainly clauses within our agreement that the provinces are expected to meet and there are consequences when they do not.”

In a statement to CityNews, press secretary for the minister of children and family services, Ashli Barrett, explained why Alberta has some money left in the pot.

“The carry-over is a result of the timing in which the province signed the Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement. As the agreement was signed in November 2021, late in the fiscal year, only one quarter of the total funds for 2021-22 were spent,” she said. “Once the funding formula is fully implemented, the federal-provincial child care agreement will be underfunded, and Alberta intends on using the carry-forward to minimize the funding shortfall from the federal government.”

Barrett also said that in addition to federal funding, Alberta has invested $786 million towards childcare related initiatives since 2021.

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• Some Alberta childcare centres risk closing amid rising costs and fixed fees: operator

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Meanwhile, an Alberta daycare operators’ association says these blame games aren’t going to solve the core issue.

“If the federal and provincial governments can’t stop playing ping pong of who’s to blame, ultimately all that happens is impact upon parents, the parents that everybody in government is reflecting that they want to care about,” said Kathryn Babowal, a daycare director and Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE) board member.

“I feel like I would like to see to all levels of government please work together cohesively in order to find solutions,” she added.

Last week the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs had an in-depth meeting with Premier Danielle Smith to work on solving the differences in the implementation of the $10-a-day federal daycare program in Alberta.

Now, they say they are waiting for Smith’s promised solutions.

“We have been contacted as an association by every single province in the country, explaining to us that they are aligned with a lot of the concerns that we are highlighting, that they are seeing comparable situations in their provinces,” Babowal said. “And there is very much the possibility of an alliance at a national level relevant to this at what cost campaign.”