Hundreds of people attended a rally at Lethbridge City Hall, calling for changes to the new childcare agreement. January 30, 2024. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Hundreds in Lethbridge rally as childcare providers struggle to survive

Jan 30, 2024 | 4:06 PM

“Instead of the sector improving with this government help that we’ve received, it’s actually doing the opposite. It’s crumbling the sector.”

Austin Goldie is one of the childcare providers, who, along with several supportive community members, made their voices clear that changes are needed to the new $10-per-day childcare arrangement.

She helped to organize a rally at Lethbridge City Hall on Tuesday and is a director at the Narnia Learning Centre in Lethbridge.

Also speaking as a member of the Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE), she said around 68 childcare organizations in the province, including 14 in Lethbridge, took part in a “rolling closure”, meaning that they closed their doors for a single day in an act of protest.

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Goldie said it is great that the provincial and federal governments are working to make childcare more affordable for families, but it cannot come at the expense of those providing the service.

“We believe that the quality of childcare is really important and something we value as Albertans. Recently, we felt that this chance to excel and offer enhanced services is starting to get taken away from us on behalf of various government problems,” said Goldie.

Under the new funding model, between 80-90 per cent of the money that childcare providers receive comes from the provincial government.

The problem with that, according to Goldie, is that there are significant delays in that money being issued to operators. She explains that they have to submit claims at the end of every month in order to receive funding, but it could take over a full month to get it.

“What’s scary with that is, if I receive 80 per cent from the government and that’s taking 30 to 45 days, I only have that 20 per cent to live off of, to feed, to program, to support my staff, to give myself a wage, and on and on,” she said.

As a result of the delays in funding, numerous day cares and day homes in Lethbridge, as well as across Alberta, have warned that they are at risk of having to shut down. During LNN’s interview with Goldie, she said she had just been informed that one operator in Lethbridge would be closing its doors at the beginning of February.

“It’s a very scary time right now because, some businesses who have been in business for over 20 years are now having to let go of their staff, let go of their families, and close their doors because they’re lacking the funds and they’re lacking the autonomy to be able operate and offer things they want in their centres that they’ve always done.”

Goldie said that parents were already having a tough time finding available childcare spaces in Lethbridge, but that things could get worse before they get better.

She adds that she feels for the children who will no longer have a daycare to go to and the parents who will have to stay home from work.

Her hope is that rallies such as this one will make the provincial and federal governments understand how serious this issue is and invite those in the sector to give their input.

According to Goldie, the right solution will be one that keeps childcare affordable but provides operators with the stability and autonomy they need to run their services as best as they can.

Hundreds of people attended a rally at Lethbridge City Hall, calling for changes to the new childcare agreement. January 30, 2024. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Hundreds of people attended a rally at Lethbridge City Hall, calling for changes to the new childcare agreement. January 30, 2024. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

Hundreds of people attended a rally at Lethbridge City Hall, calling for changes to the new childcare agreement. January 30, 2024. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)