Nearly 700 new child-care spaces to be added, including at three hospitals

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Child care spaces for parents who work in health care are planned for three hospitals in Manitoba.

The federal and provincial governments announced Tuesday plans for 700 new child-care spaces for children up to age six, nearly half of which will be on-site at St. Boniface Hospital, the Brandon Regional Health Centre and Riverview Health Centre.

In total, 104 spaces have been earmarked for St. Boniface Hospital, which is considering the construction of a day care in La Vérendrye Park, directly across from the hospital.

“We’ve always had this vision of bringing a day care to our (hospital),” said president and CEO Nicole Aminot.

“People are always so worried about where they’re going to bring their child when they go back to work, so this gives them a great option.”

The hospital plans to issue two requests for proposals, for construction of the building and operation of the child care centre. Aminot said they hope to have the site ready in two years.

A memo sent to all St. B staff Tuesday said the site will be licensed for 24 infant spaces and 80 pre-school spots, and the “majority” would be reserved for hospital staff and physicians.

The memo notes that the site will ideally be bilingual and have extended hours to accommodate shift work. No potential sign-up date was provided.

“The enrollment and application process will be determined with the eventual operator, once that operator is chosen,” the memo reads. “We will be sure to keep staff posted on important developments with respect to the daycare, and access to it.”

Aminot hopes the site will help efforts to recruit and retain health-care staff, which she called “one of our greatest challenges.”

“Our staff deserve this,” she said.

“They will value it, they will make good use of it, and we couldn’t be prouder to be able to offer this to the people who work so hard spending their days looking after their fellow citizens in their time of need here in our community.”

Riverview Health Centre in Winnipeg has been allocated 80 spots, while 140 spots have been earmarked for the Brandon Regional Health Centre.

An action plan detailing how $20.9 million in federal funding will be used to create the 324 spaces over three years was signed by both governments this month. The money is part of the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.

An additional 384 child-care spaces will be created in partnership with three public school divisions and two post-secondary institutions.

From those, 256 new child-care spaces will open in six schools, and 128 spaces will be created at Red River College Polytechnic and the University College of the North campus in Thompson.

Manitoba Child Care Association executive director Jodie Kehl said while she was happy to see both levels of government working together, more work must be done to improve wages and working conditions.

“The system will not be high-quality unless we have certified early childhood educators who are compensated competitively and have supportive working conditions,” she said.

“I do appreciate that this is a balanced approach… (but) we really have to start focusing on that quality piece.”

Federal Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jenna Sudds was in Winnipeg for the funding announcement.

She decried Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who hasn’t said whether he would keep the federal $10-a-day child care plan in place should he become prime minister in this year’s election.

“Pierre Poilievre believes that this program is a slush fund, and has said that he will fight it until his dying day,” she told attendees at Tuesday’s announcement.

» Winnipeg Free Press