Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I wish I had done my statement on Cheetah today as well.
The recent announcement on the childcare fee reduction, CCFR, subsidy, will reduce fees by 50 percent on average for families with children five years of age and younger. This only applies for those attending licensed programs where the provider has opted into the program.
Since the announcement of the subsidy, several issues have been raised by providers and parents about ECE's plan concerns around the timeline of the rollout, as well as the pressure being placed on providers to sign on without clear information.
Many questions about policy and procedure remain unanswered and caregivers are burdened with trying to explain the new program to parents when they don't have a clear understanding of it themselves.
A restriction on fees means providers are unable to give their staff the raises they had planned that was to result in them receiving a living wage. Additionally, there is an increase in the administrative burden on what are generally small businesses or NGOs.
The government promises that childcare will eventually be $10 a day and 230 new spaces are to be created which raises questions. With $50 million coming from the federal government, how much is going to be used to physically create daycare spaces in communities that current don't have any? Where are we going to get the people to work in these facilities, new or existing? We already have issues with recruitment and retention and now we are capping the ability of day cares to create revenue for themselves through fee raises. This puts the provider in a hard position of hiring lesser qualified staff and leading to a higher incident of turnover. Staff, I may add, that is traditionally female. Was our new governmentwide gender lens applied when it was decided to cap fees prohibiting providers from giving raises? And what happens in communities where there are no providers?
Again, the unique situation of the North has been overlooked in what is a southern Canadian solution. Many parents in communities rely on family members or unlicensed homes to take care of their children. How are they supposed to access this subsidy? Why hasn't the GNWT fought for an exception from the feds to allow all NWT parents to benefit from this subsidy, not just those in our wealthier capital or regional centres? Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement. Thank you.
Unanimous consent granted.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, providers and caregivers continue to write to us, hoping to be heard, and for ECE to really work with the providers to determine the best path forward so that relief can be found and looking for supports so that they can continue to provide an essential service to our community. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member for Great Slave. Members' statements. Member for Tu NedheWiilideh.
