The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the government to make clear their plan for child care closures, and how child care workers will receive financial support as centres close.
“Many other provinces have already moved to close child care centres,” - Ryan Meili
“Today, we are calling on the province to work with leaders in the sector to put forward a clear plan to close child care centres in Saskatchewan, and to provide a plan for how to ensure that people working on the frontlines of the response to COVID-19 are able to access safe child care.” - Ryan Meili
Georgia Lavallee, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association supports action on child care centres:
“For the safety of children, early childhood educators and the general public, we need to close all child care centres immediately and develop a safe plan for care of the children of essential care workers.”
Meili underscored the urgent need for a plan for child care for health care workers, but one that doesn’t create greater risk.
“Putting the children of health care workers — a group that will be more exposed to COVID-19 through their frontline service — together in large groups poses a significant risk for the transmission of infection,” Meili said. “The province needs to come up with a system to support in-home or small group care to support the families of essential workers while preventing further spread of COVID-19.”