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Newfoundland and Labrador’s education department says it’s run out of money to create new $10-a-day child-care spaces during the current fiscal year, which won’t reset until next April.
“Our current budget for subsidized spaces has hit its max for this fiscal year,” said the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in a statement Friday.
“Options are being looked at, so we can find ways to continue increasing the number of early learning and child-care spaces available across the province.”
In the same statement, department spokesperson Lynn Robinson said 1,450 spaces had been approved since the beginning of the year and that “once they’re fully operating, it will help a significant number of parents and families currently seeking child care.”
The department failed to say when the budget for new child-care spaces ran out and how many daycare and day home operators looking to offer $10-a-day services are stuck in limbo.
It also did not say how many children are on a wait list.
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The department’s statement comes as people in the province who are trying to set up new child-care services say they’ve been held up for months waiting for inspections and for provincial subsidies for renovations.
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