The Ministère de la Famille does not intend to allow Ukrainian families who have just arrived in Quebec to have access to subsidized daycare services when a place is available.
Posted at 11:23 a.m.
“The same criteria apply to determine eligibility for the reduced contribution of all parents residing in Quebec, including Ukrainian nationals,” notes Bryan St-Louis, from the communications department of the Ministère de la Famille.
Persons welcomed to Canada under the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU) are not eligible for the reduced contribution since they are not considered refugees and are not staying in Quebec mainly to work, he said.
“However, these people have access to daycare services offered by non-subsidized daycare centres, to services offered by stop-over daycare centers and to the tax credit for childcare expenses. »
Brigitte Carré, who is helping a Ukrainian family with their integration process in Quebec, does not understand Quebec’s position.
“The government says that Ukrainians are not in Quebec mainly to work there. Well, why are they here, then? They are on vacation ? They are literally provided with a work visa! It’s an absurd position. I worked for 34 years at the Department of Youth Protection, but I must say that a statement like that is unheard of. »
Simon Landry, who voluntarily welcomes a family of five Ukrainians to his home in the metropolitan area, finds it hard to understand the “insensitive” position of Quebec in this file.
“The provincial government’s stubbornness in denying access to Ukrainians is deplorable. The Ministry of the Family takes refuge behind a ridiculous bureaucratic technicality to play petty politics with this issue, ”he says.
Mr. Landry notes that there is no question of prioritizing Ukrainians and putting them before other families who are waiting for a place in a subsidized daycare.
“No one is asking for preferential treatment. There are places in Quebec where getting a place is difficult. But in Montreal, it is possible to have a place. There are daycare centers that are ready to take them tomorrow morning, but cannot, their hands are tied by this decision of the ministry. »
He reports that his family was finally able to secure a $45-a-day place for their two-year-old boy in a private daycare that “is much less attractive” than the subsidized daycare that was ready to take them.
“This family now has to spend $225 a week on daycare. It is difficult for them. The husband works, but does not earn a huge salary, and the wife wants to learn French. Once again, it’s not for lack of space, it’s a bureaucratic decision. »
Mme Carré notes that in Poland, the Government of Canada invites Ukrainians to come to the country, telling them that they will be treated as full citizens. “But the Ukrainians come here and have their doors closed. They are not treated as citizens. That is what is wrong with this case. »