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Sask. Party government under fire for $10-a-day child care cutoff

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The Saskatchewan NDP and childcare providers are criticizing the government's new childcare agreement, which leaves some kids out.
Author: 
Joel-Hansen, Michael
Format: 
Article
Publication Date: 
5 Mar 2026
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Excerpts

Tina Lloyd had been hopeful she’d have some monthly breathing room in her family’s budget when she heard six year olds in their kindergarten year would be covered for $10-a-day child care under the looming agreement between the provincial and federal governments.

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Instead, Lloyd and others learned in recent days that not every child who celebrates a sixth birthday this year will continue to be covered until the end of kindergarten.

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Speaking with media in Regina on Thursday, Hindley said it’s “not a perfect agreement” but insisted it is an improvement on the previous one. He added the agreement came about as a result of negotiations between the provincial and federal governments, which required give and take.

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Hindley told media he did not consider the inclusion of the cutoff to be an “oversight” by the province.

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Cara Werner, the chair for the advocacy group Childcare Now Saskatchewan and also the director of Dream Big Rocanville, told reporters that providers, parents and caregivers had been under the impression that six-year-olds born before April 1 would be covered through kindergargten.

She said child care providers finding out about the cutoff when they did does not reflect well on Hindley.

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