The Ministry of the Family (MFA) has authorized in recent weeks the creation of 13,974 new subsidized places in daycare centers.
Quebec had launched a call for projects in October for the creation of 17,000 new places over four years, the number that the government lacks to reach its objective of 37,000 places in 2025.
The ministry has significantly reduced the time needed to authorize projects, from 10 months to 60 days. “Once again, we are thinking outside the box to go faster,” said Family Minister Mathieu Lacombe during a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
However, these places will not be available immediately. “We want this to be done within 24 months as much as possible,” said the minister, while the construction of the daycare centers is being done.
However, he hopes that partnerships will be created with municipalities so that they can temporarily receive children in vacant premises. “We are ready to release funding. While the daycare or the CPE is being built, we are able to welcome these children immediately, ”he illustrated.
Following an agreement with the Association québécoise des centers de la petite enfance, a call for public projects will soon be launched for the design of prefabricated buildings that can then be delivered in different regions of Quebec. This will speed up the construction of child care centers from 9 months to 3 months.
However, there is a shortage of nearly 18,000 daycare educators. Minister Lacombe is betting on a salary increase of up to 18% for educators, and “work-study” courses.
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