(Quebec) The Legault government is capping the fees charged to parents who send their child to a school daycare service.
Posted at 11:18 a.m.
In order to counter the significant impact of the price variation from one school to another on access to childcare services, the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, tabled a draft regulation in the Gazette on Wednesday. official to cap the cost of midday childcare services at $3 per hour, for a maximum amount of $8.55 per school day if the child also attends the service before and after school.
“The financial contribution required for a student who attends daycare during a pedagogical day cannot exceed the amount of $14.60,” the draft regulation also provides. These rates will be indexed on 1er July of each year according to the “rate corresponding to the annual variation of the average all-items consumer price index for Québec”.
However, certain nuances accompany these new guidelines, which will be applied in time for the start of the school year in September. For example, “this amount does not include the financial contribution that may be required when childcare is offered for more than ten hours during a [une journée pédagogique] and “also does not include that which may be required for an exit [ou] for an activity taking place with the participation of a person who is not a staff member of the daycare service”.
Currently, these rates range “from $4.81 to $22.50 depending on the custody period, the student’s attendance status and [le centre de services scolaire] “, recently recalled the Ministry of Education in a brief sent to the Council of Ministers.
Promote work-family balance
In its brief, the Ministère de l’Éducation also stated that “flexible models with accessible rates for school daycare services would promote work-family balance”.
“Currently, only students enrolled on a regular basis are recognized for funding purposes for daycare services. While for these students, a maximum daily parental contribution of $8.50 is specified within the framework of the budgetary rules of the school boards, no guideline is provided for those who attend daycare services sporadically. The average daily rate for the latter is $14.51 and can go up to $22.50,” the ministry recalled.
“The job market is changing and a little more than a third of Quebecers now hold non-standard jobs, the terms and hours of which differ from the regular model. Flexible models with accessible rates for school childcare services would promote work-family balance.
However, the new fee framework will have financial consequences for school service centers and solar commissions. Quebec recently estimated this impact at $10 million annually, which should be offset by additional credits from the government budget. The Legault government also provided in the 2021-2022 budget for investments of $89.3 million by 2025-2026 to improve childcare services in schools.