Martensville childcare owner says children safety not at risk with expansion plans
The owners of a childcare facility just north of Saskatoon say they have measures in place to handle the high traffic for their new location.
Early Learning Child Care director for Lutheran Early Learning Centers Tasha Merko said their goal was to provide more spaces for parents in the community.
“The need is definitely there,” she told CTV News. “The waitlist at my location alone is well over 200 families that, at this point, will never, ever see childcare in this community.
“I get waitlist requests daily. While at least I would say I average about four to five daily.”
The expansion would bring 54 new childcare spaces to Martensville, and 15 jobs, Merko said.
City council heard from residents who were concerned about the development earlier this week. One of the main issues was the amount of traffic in the proposed space.
“We strongly disagree,” one unnamed resident told the city.
“A childcare facility should never be next to a bar, nor to a busy street where incoming traffic from the highway comes in and the main street where all the traffic from local shopping and businesses are… Children should be in a residential area where it is safer. Last but not least as grandparents to young children we would never want our grandchildren on this street.”
Another unnamed resident was quoted in council documents as saying:
“As we do agree that Martensville is in need of more daycare facilities, we do not feel this is the right location and Centennial is a very busy street and with all the parents coming and going there are traffic concerns both on Centennial and 2nd St. S.”
Merko said the amount of traffic was something they’ve thought about too.
“When we did our risk assessments, we realized we had ways to kind of mitigate some of those concerns. Some of those being a second gated entrance to each classroom so that children would never have access to the front parking lot or Centennial without their parent’s supervision,” she said.
Merko said they will also have a five-foot link fence protecting kids on the property.
“We just felt that in our search in the last few years of trying to find a building, that would be acceptable for the use that we need because of all of the positive boxes that we were able to check off such as space green space nearby, adequate parking, accessibility for parents.”
She also noted that staff was trained in keeping kids in their care safe.
“We are all trained in active supervision child management policies and have very strict procedures to ensure the safety of all the children.”
She said if the project was approved, they hoped to open the new facility in 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.