Concerns raised about proposed child-care facility’s service offerings

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This article was published 10/01/2025 (510 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A proposed daycare in Brandon’s west end called Connecting Dots has caused quite the stir on social media, even before it has officially launched for business in the Wheat City.

Social media posts shared by Connecting Dots on Dec. 13 and 30 stated the new daycare facility would have 150 spaces for those “in search of inclusive child care in Brandon,” and will establish a “state-of-the-art facility that welcomes children of all ages and abilities, providing specialized support for those with special needs.”

The services advertised in the ad caught the eye of Brandon mom Patricia Anne Hefferan.

“Being a parent of a child with ADHD and mild autism, I know from experience that an ad like the Connecting Dots post seems too good to be true,” she said.

“Services in the Brandon area for children with these conditions are sparse. I know at first I read the ad and got excited, and I sent them my son’s information,” said Hefferan.

Navroop Ghumman, the daycare’s director of operations, told the Sun, “When we put that first ad on Facebook, we got a lot of good response from the community. We had 64 pre-registrations. But at the same time, we had a lot of people questioning us, our authenticity, and credibility. People started saying it’s a scam.”

Brandon-based Samantha Giberson, also a mom, cautioned people to do their own research.

“Child care is already so difficult to find in the city, and when something seems too good to be true, it can get parents hopes up,” Giberson said. “It’s a very stressful time for moms, and then to be questioning the validity is causing a lot of stress — on top of an already stressful situation,” she said.

However, Ghumman said he plans to have an open house in February to allay some of these concerns. “Basically, it will be more of a meet-and-greet for parents.”

“We will be working with children with special needs and (will) be providing speech therapy, occupational therapy and applied behaviour therapy.”

“As a parent of a child with autism, I struggled myself to find my child a speech therapist, so we’re hiring a speech pathologist, occupational therapists, a program director and 30 to 32 staff.”

The daycare facility will also be looking to create relationships with post-secondary institutions to find students with education in child care and experience working with children with special needs.

Connecting Dots is run by a non-profit foundation with daycares already up and running in Ontario and Alberta. Ghumman said he has been involved with the organization for the last eight years and decided to build a new daycare in Brandon on the advice of a business colleague.

“When we were introduced to Brandon, we were told that there are 800 children on a waiting list.”

Ghumman has just signed a lease for 10,000 square feet in WestVic Common, which also houses Sobeys, FYI Doctors and Princess Dental on the corner of 34th Street and Victoria Avenue.

The foundation intends to apply for an operating grant so it can offer $10-a-day child care, under the federal and provincial child-care plan that was launched in 2021.

“The next step,” said Ghumman, is to get a building permit from the City of Brandon and begin construction on the facility that will be to the north of, or behind, the dental office. There are plans to build an outdoor play area, which is a requirement for all daycares.

“Once we get a building permit, we’ll do construction for about two to three months, then apply for an occupancy permit, and furnish the whole daycare.

“We’re building a full-fledged kitchen, so we’ll need a food handling permit from Manitoba Health,” said Ghumman.

Additional approvals will include an inspection by Brandon Fire and Emergency Services, and the daycare licence that the foundation has yet to apply for.

Ghumman speculated that the construction and approvals would take five to six months, and acquiring the child-care licence would take 45 to 60 days.

Once Connecting Dots has applied for its licence, it will be assigned a child care co-ordinator (CCC) who will monitor the facility, conduct inspections and review regulations. The CCC is provided by the Manitoba Government’s Child Care Program and Manitoba Family Services and Housing.

“The timelines for licensing can vary considerably, including many key stages that fall outside of provincial purview, such as fire inspections and occupancy permits,” a government spokesperson said in an email to the Sun.

“The department is available to support any person or organization looking to create child-care spaces and works with applicants throughout all stages of the licensing process,” said the spokesperson.

For now, Ghumman said the foundation has decided to step back from social media and will work on installing signs to let people know a daycare is on the way.

“Nobody expected that someone would come into that building. And we’re outsiders, we’re coming from outside of the community, right?” he stated.

“So, once we get going, our signs will go up. The daycare is coming soon.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele