Excerpts
A Halifax mom says a local daycare told her they no longer have available spaces for her two kids, nearly one year after she placed a $2,300 deposit to reserve a spot.
Kayleigh Fleet, a mother of two, said she submitted her deposit in November 2022 to ensure her twin children could attend the Kids & Company daycare in Halifax when she returned to work this August.
“They said, ‘You fill out the paperwork, send the money, and you’re good for August 1,’” she said.
“I did that, signed it, sent the money … and (they) don’t have any spots now.”
Fleet said she’s been on daycare waitlists since she was 20 weeks pregnant. Her children are now almost one year old.
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Kenya Thompson, coordinator of Nova Scotia’s Child Care Now branch, a child care advocacy group, said these situations happen “too often” with for-profit spaces, adding that Kids & Company “dropped” other kids from their waitlist earlier this year.
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Thompson said Nova Scotia should follow in Ontario’s footsteps, as the province banned child-care-related waitlist fees in 2016.
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Nova Scotia’s NDP leader Claudia Chender said the underwhelming number of child care spaces opening throughout the province has created an “enormous crunch” for parents.
“We have a lot of people making choices on whether to work or not,” she said.
“The train is off the tracks, people cannot find childcare,” Chender continued. “We know of tons of women who put their name on the list before their children were born and still don’t have child care when they need to return to work.”
“That’s a huge problem and one that this government needs to take more seriously.”