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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is tasking her jobs minister with fixing a provincial grant payment system responsible for doling out a multi-billon dollar federal child care deal.
The goal of the $3.8-billion federally-funded program is to offer parents an average $10-per-day fee by 2026, but local childcares have said it’s been underfunded from the start, and that delayed monthly grant payment dates were forcing many to the financial brink.
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In a news release Friday, the UCP government announced Premier Danielle Smith had appointed Alberta Jobs, Economy and Trade Minister Matt Jones, who served as the children’s services minister during the 2022 UCP leadership race, to lead the child care file.
Jones has been asked to address “several concerns relating to long-term sustainability and a lack of flexibility under the agreement,” although the government has so far not offered details.
The announcement via news release came after hundreds of childcare centres across the province protested the funding arrangement by closing their doors in late January. One of their biggest concerns has been timing, with operators having to wait between five to 10 business days from the end of a given month to get reimbursed for expenses, including wages.
The Alberta Association of Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE) has been loudly opposed to structure of the province’s child care grant payment system for years, but in a Friday email to Postmedia, AACE chair Krystal Churcher welcomed the news.
“We’re excited to work with Minister Jones. We’ve had a great relationship with him in the past,” she said.
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The AACE, which now represents both for-profit and non-profit operators, said in a news release it’s been “encouraged by Premier Smith’s quick and decisive action on this file, validating the sector’s concerns and demonstrating a clear commitment to improving Alberta’s childcare system,” adding the move acknowledges the role the childcare industry plays in the economy and workforce development.
Minister Jones declined a request for an interview from Postmedia.
Spokesperson Josh Aldrich said Jones is being briefed on the file, and has reached out to operators and his federal counterpart, Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds, to consult.
Aldrich promised the government will provide updates on the details of the new streamlined payment process “in the coming days and weeks.” Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish, has been asked to help.
Jones’ office did not answer specific questions from Postmedia, including about whether the Alberta government is willing to put provincial money into the program.
On Jan. 30, Smith said in a post on social media that she believed the federal Liberals have induced inflation and were to blame for the cost pressures faced by operators.
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“Child care is the responsibility of the provincial government and if the federal government doesn’t meet us at the table we will ensure Albertans can continue to access an affordable and sustainable child care system our way,” said Smith, without making any specific promises.
Likewise, Jones’ ministry did not explain how it might work to address operators’ concerns about the deal’s cost control framework, which defines “core” publicly-funded programs or “enhanced,” out-of-pocket services.
That small print could define the scope of publicly-funded child care services in Alberta.
Meanwhile, Child and Family Services Minister Searle Turton has been relegated to his ministry’s “core mandate,” the province said, including protecting children, preventing family violence, early childhood development, and supporting foster and kinship caregivers, as well as those pursuing adoption.
Diana Batten, Opposition NDP children’s services critic, said in a news release Friday that operators have been carrying the consequences of the UCP’s roll-out of the program.
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“Since the beginning of this deal, the UCP has done a poor job in launching and investing in this important child care program for Albertans, so I’m not sure what Danielle Smith believes switching up the person in charge of its organization will accomplish,” said Batten, who called for the government to put provincial funding towards the deal.
“The UCP needs to listen to parents and listen to child care providers, admit their formula is broken, and address this provincial funding shortfall in Budget 2024.”
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lijohnson@postmedia.com
X: @reportrix
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