A second round of reimbursement payments were provided to parents last month through regulated child care facilities to offset costs from November of last year through the end of January. The first round of reimbursements were paid in late 2021.  Parents began paying reduced fees to their regulated provider at the beginning of February.

The fee reduction is part of over a billion dollars being invested between 2021 and 2026 through the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement to make regulated child care more affordable.

Provincial Education Minister Dustin Duncan says the Ministry now wants to help unregulated child care providers, many of which provide care out of their homes, to  become regulated.  He notes that the ministry has training and supports available to those who apply to become regulated. Those who do become licensed, are eligible to receive grants to reduce parent fees retroactive to the date of application.

The current parent fees for children under six in regulated early learning and child care programs have been reduced on average by 50 per cent.  The federal government’s goal is to ensure that by the end of March of 2026, all families in Canada will have access to regulated child care at an average of $10 a day.