For fear of seeing service disruptions multiply, Quebec will be satisfied with a ratio of one qualified educator in two in childcare services until 2027, we have learned The duty. The government’s decision disappoints executives and early childhood workers’ unions.
In the pandemic context of 2020, the Legault government reduced its requirements in childcare services by accepting that a third of educators be qualified. In March 2023, the ratio was increased to one in two qualified educators.
Childcare services were to return to pre-pandemic levels — two out of three qualified educators — in March 2024. However, Quebec must publish a draft regulation on Wednesday in the Official Gazette so that the current level (1/2) is maintained until March 31, 2027.
In a statement sent to Duty Tuesday, the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, said that she was extending the current ratio because “it is the right thing to do to avoid a breakdown in services for parents, while continuing to quickly create subsidized places for families on hold “.
The minister’s office recognizes that the intensive increase in places puts pressure on childcare services. It also specifies that all staff — whether qualified or not — are subject to a criminal background check and must have completed first aid training.
Leveling from the bottom
Quebec’s decision was received with disappointment in the childcare network. “It’s Halloween today and I would tell you: it’s scary,” reacted Tuesday the general director of the Association of Managers of Early Childhood Centers, Élyse Lebeau. “To offer high-level services, you need trained educators. »
In a context of staff shortage, “educators who are not trained are no longer there,” she also underlined. Mme Lebeau indicated that the arrival of unqualified educators puts pressure on managers, who must offer more support to these employees.
“When we allow such ratios, educators who have their DEC [diplôme d’études collégiales] must spend their time taking care not only of children, but also of unqualified staff,” also declared the general director of the Association québécoise des CPE, Sandro Di Cori. He said he found it “ironic” that this decision was taken just after National Early Childhood Educators Week.
“It’s a leveling down, in my opinion,” he also said Duty the representative of the CPE sector at the Federation of Health and Social Services, Stéphanie Vachon. “The CPE network has proven itself in terms of quality and we must maintain this quality objective there. We must do everything to achieve this, even if there is a breakdown in services,” she added.
The president of the Federation of early childhood workers of Quebec, Valérie Grenon, said she understood why the government was making this decision, specifying nevertheless that it is “not good news”. “We have to find the solution to the problem. It’s not normal that we are not able to attract new talent,” she lamented.
One in three in the morning and evening
In its draft regulation, the government is also introducing something new. During the first and last hours of opening of a daycare service, only a third of the educators must be qualified.
Please note: since June 2021, it is no longer necessary to hold a DEC in childhood education to be considered “qualified” by Quebec. Certain university credits may, for example, lead to qualification as a “temporarily qualified substitute”.
To counter the effects of the labor shortage, the government launched an offensive in January 2022 to requalify or recruit 25,000 early childhood educators by 2026. On Tuesday, the Roy cabinet was not in able to provide a clear assessment of this offensive to the Duty. The minister’s entourage, however, affirmed that the rate of vacant positions in the network had decreased, going from 8.3% in 2021-2022 to 7% the following year. For two years, the network has hired more workers than it has lost, he also underlined.
The Regional Admission Service of Metropolitan Montreal (SRAM) has also noted an increase in DEC admissions. There were 978 offers of admission in 2023, an unrivaled number since 2019. However, SRAM statistics do not allow “to paint a picture of the situation for this field of activity”, since “a large number of people rather choose short-term programs (AEC) for continuing education,” explained the director of communications, Geneviève Lapointe.