Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Children's Services (Government of Alberta)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Pre-Election Manoeuvring?

Minister of Children’s Services frustrated with Quebec-Canada child care agreement

Aug 5, 2021 | 4:50 PM

Alberta’s Minister of Children’s Services, Rebecca Schulz, has weighed-in on the Quebec-Canada agreement on a Canada-wide early learning and child care system announced on Thursday.

Schulz issued the following statement in response to the news:

“Today, we’ve learned that the federal government and Quebec have agreed to a $6-billion child care agreement without conditions. This is the exact arrangement Ottawa rejected when Alberta asked for it this week and last week. Furthermore, when we asked Ottawa if any province would receive a straight transfer of child care dollars with no conditions attached, we were told no,” Schulz wrote in part.

“We believe we can reduce child care fees to $10 per day or less for low-income families and cut fees by an average of half, respecting the choices that many parents make including out-of-school care and overnight child care. That’s why we asked for the flexibility Quebec received today,” she continued.

“We have an action plan that meets the goals of the federal government and is flexible enough to meet the needs of Alberta parents. We are optimistic that given Alberta’s continued investments in child care and the renewed bilateral agreement signed last month, we can come to a new agreement quickly,” added Schulz.

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Meantime, NDP Critic for Children’s Services Rakhi Pancholi issued the following statement on Quebec’s signing of their child care deal with the federal government:

“Instead of stepping up to support Albertans, Jason Kenney is throwing a temper tantrum as thousands of Alberta families struggle to pay their child care bills.

“The UCP are turning their nose up at $3.8 billion that could be circulating in our economy right now. Jason Kenney cancelled $25 per-day child care programs in Alberta. Now, he’s leaving billions on the table, costing us every day that goes by. This is weak and ineffective leadership, plain and simple.

“Rachel Notley wouldn’t be waiting to access this investment from the federal government. In fact, our party put forward an outline for the bilateral agreement weeks ago which included matched federal-provincial dollars to support $5.64 billion for early learning and child care by 2026,” wrote Pancholi.

On Thursday, the governments of Quebec and Canada announced what was described as an asymmetric agreement for the federal transfer of nearly $6 billion over five years.

Government officials say this includes a significant portion that will go toward strengthening the early learning and child care system in Quebec and improving working conditions for educators.

The agreement is said to follow the Government of Canada’s plan announced in the last federal budget to provide parents across Canada with early learning and child care spaces for an average of $10 a day for children under the age of six.

“All families should have access to quality, affordable child care,” said Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, in a press release. “That is why, from coast to coast to coast, we are laying the foundation for Canada’s first-ever Canada-wide early learning and child care system. Today’s agreement with Quebec will further improve the system that Quebecers are so rightly proud of.”