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The Legault government is partially suspending its directive that would have expelled many immigrant children with open work permits from subsidized daycares and early childhood centres (CPEs).
This directive from the Ministry of Family Affairs (MFA), published earlier this month, targets children whose parents have open work permits. It stipulates that these foreign workers are not eligible for the $9.35 daily rate for childcare.
She clarified that the directive still applies to new admissions. “Parents who are not eligible will not be able to benefit from a subsidized place,” said Roy.
Several families said this week that their children, who have been attending subsidized daycare for more than a year, are at risk of eviction.
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A permanent withdrawal required
The Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance du Québec (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ, also welcomes the decision. However, she hopes that the government will “definitively renounce this unfair measure for these immigrants who are trying to earn an honest living and integrate into Quebec society.”
“I urge the Minister of Families to quickly take stock of this issue and to make the withdrawal of this directive permanent, to remove the concerns that persist among these families,” said the president of the union organization, Anne-Marie Bellerose, in a statement.
She also calls on the minister to order the reintegration of children into educational services, who have already lost access to their reduced-contribution places.
According to the July 9 directive, foreign workers with a closed work permit, which specifies a specific employer and the duration of employment, can enroll their children in Quebec’s subsidized daycare system. Those with an open work permit, which allows them to work for any employer in Canada, are not eligible for a reduced-contribution space.
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