Excerpt
Childcare business owners risk loss of personal assets, including homes due to poor communication from the Alberta government. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)’s members say that Alberta’s administration of the for-profit space cap under the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program has blindsided childcare businesses who expected to receive grants.
An emailed letter to applicants from the Ministry of Education and Childcare on May 15 indicated that for-profit licensing applicants in the queue to receive $10/day grant funding under the CWELCC program would be cut off from the program with no notice. CFIB has heard from members that prior to this, the Ministry of Education and Childcare only communicated that all for-profit spaces “could be fully allocated by summer of 2025". The lack of transparency on the for-profit space cap limitations has left many businesses involved in the program incapable of pivoting or mitigating their investment risks this late in their business plan. Many business owners began construction on new spaces to support Albertan families with childcare only to be left in limbo.
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