Sask. daycares say a sudden pivot from the province is increasing costs for some families

Parents and daycares across Saskatchewan are scrambling to accept a sudden change that is raising prices for some parents. Keenan Sorokan reports.

Parents and daycares across Saskatchewan are scrambling to accept a sudden change that is raising prices for some parents.

In November, the province announced a multi-year extension to its $10 a day childcare agreement with the federal government, which touted expanded age eligibility from five to six-year-old children.

Daycare operators say an email from the province has changed that.

Shelby Fox, who operates Early Bird Daycare in Warman, says she received the email at the end of the day on Monday saying six-year-old children born Jan. 1 to April 1 are no longer eligible for the subsidized daycare fees.

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“Which is kind of a slap in the face for parents,” she said.

“I have a family — their child is turning six on March 23rd, and so he will not be eligible for the $10 a day program anymore because he was born a week prior to their deadline.”

She says since the province signed on to the federal daycare program in 2021 and began offering it in 2023, parents with children in kindergarten longed to have their children included in the program.

Many parents have signed up since the province extended its agreement thinking their children will be included in the significantly reduced fees but are now suddenly having to accept absorbing the full cost.

“It’s frustrating,” Fox said.

The most frustrating aspect of the sudden announcement for Fox is the lack of notice. She says daycares have to follow strict guidelines to remain licensed and regulated.

That includes providing notice of any fee increases to parents, which she and many others set at one month. With the changes affecting some children in less than a month’s time, she fears she will now not be in compliance with her own agreement.

“We’re given deadlines and dates and regulations, and we have to follow these things. Otherwise, we’re not in compliance,” she said. “But then they’ll turn around and say, ‘you know, we’re doing it a different way now’ — and you kind of just have to accept it.”

When questioned by reporters at the legislature in Regina Thursday, Education Minister Everett Hindley dodged specifics about why further notice wasn’t given to parents or daycares and touted the deal negotiated by the provincial government.

“The new agreement takes effect on April 1st, and that’s when this provision will actually come into effect,” he said.

“This is a new provision, something that was obviously important to lots to parents and childcare operators and the sector as a whole. Something that we were able to successfully negotiate into this new agreement, which is a better deal for Saskatchewan.”

Hindley said families under the impression their children would be eligible will not be given added supports to cover expenses because it would break the agreement with the federal government.

The Saskatchewan NDP chastised Hindley and his office, saying this was a gaffe that went undetected until just now. Hindley disagreed.

“No, I wouldn’t say it’s an oversight. I would say when our officials were negotiating with their federal counterparts, this is what we were able to achieve,” he said.

NDP leader Carla Beck says it is unacceptable how the province handled this agreement and its changes.

“It’s mea culpa — an oops for this government,” she said. “This may not seem like a big deal to this government. It’s another example of oops, and it’s Saskatchewan people who pay for it. This is a huge deal to those families.”

Regulated daycares have childcare fees set to $10 per day or $217.50 per month. Fox says the parents caught in this sudden change from the province will now pay four times that amount at her day care, with some other daycares charging well above that.

“Without notice, we have to tell them, ‘sorry, you’re actually paying four times as much in less than a month from today,” she said. “I think a big deal for a lot of families.”