The Legault government appears to be moving away from its commitment to create 37,000 subsidized daycare spaces by March of next year and thus ensure that all parents who request it have a space for their child.
According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Family, more than 5,200 children were added to the waiting list as of July 31 compared to March, for a total of 34,000, less than a year from the deadline.
But in October 2021, the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) committed to creating 37,000 subsidized spaces by March 31, 2025, at a cost of $3 billion. Premier François Legault even expressed his impatience and eagerness at the time by suggesting that he found the deadline too far away.
The dashboard for the development of the child care network indicates that we are 95.1% towards achieving the objective of 37,000 spaces, but this is considering more than 19,000 spaces at the “in progress” stage — a measure that the opposition finds imprecise because it does not indicate the progress of the opening of these spaces.
There would therefore be 19,000 places to be delivered in less than seven months, while the monthly rate of creation of places is well below the 2,700 which would be necessary by then.
The Parti Québécois believes that the CAQ will miss its target. According to the PQ’s family critic, Joël Arseneau, either the government is in denial or it is not telling the truth about achieving the objective that it believes will still be possible next March.
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