The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour says today’s announcement that the province has reached an historic deal with the federal government for its share of national childcare funding is a huge victory for working families in Saskatchewan, especially for mothers with young children who are looking to return to work. SFL President Lori Johb says, “This announcement has been decades in the making and is thanks to the tireless work of the many women who lobbied the government- either themselves, through an advocacy organization, or through their union- for affordable, accessible child care.”

She says, “Today’s announcement of $10-a-day early learning and child care by 2025-26 will make a huge difference in the lives of working families across the province, allow mothers to return to work, and boost the province’s economy as we look towards a recovery from COVID-19 with $1.1 billion in federal funding and the creation of 28,000 new early learning and child care spaces.”

Johb said that the SFL will look at the agreement carefully, and fight to make sure that any plan for affordable, accessible child care also needs to include a plan for good jobs in the early learning and child care sector. She says, “Any plan to spend federal government funding on child care should also ensure a plan for the creation of good, unionized jobs with improved wages and better working conditions for all who work in the sector.”