Edmonton, AB: With speculation circulating that the NDP could soon announce its child care policy for the province, which could include a universal expansion of $25-a-day daycare pilot program, AACCO today released a list of six questions the NDP needs to answer.
Will the affordable child care plan be available at private licensed child care centres, given the pilot program was only open to non-profit centres?
If private operators are not included in the affordable child care plan, what is the NDP’s plan for those parents with children attending a private licensed child care centre?
Will the affordable child care plan be limited to child care centres, or will it be expanded to children up to the age of 12 attending before and after school care programs?
If children over the age of 5 are not included in the affordable child care plan, what is the NDP’s plan to make child care more affordable for parents of children over the age of 5?
What is the NDP’s plan in the event of rapid closures and losses in child care spaces? (AACCO anticipates that if private licensed operators are not included in the NDP’s plan for affordable child care, centres may start to shut down across Alberta.)
How will the party reconcile this exclusion with their stance in support of women and visible minorities? (The majority of AACCO members are women and visible minorities who have worked extremely hard to build and run their child care centres and will view an exclusion of private operators as an affront.)
AACCO is an association of private licensed child care operators from across the province of Alberta. AACCO is exclusively comprised of private operators who reside in Alberta and does not represent the interests of multinational child care franchises.