Sask. NDP calls for closure of all childcare centres during COVID-19 pandemic

SASKATOON -- The Saskatchewan NDP is caling for the shutdown of childcare centres in tandem with financial support for the sector.

The NDP push comes after two childcare centres in Regina are currently closed because after a family was tested for COVID-19.

"Parents and childcare operators are worried about how best to protect kids and families who are accessing child care,” NDP Leader Ryan Meili said in a news release on Wednesday.

• COVID-19 updates for Saskatoon and area for Thursday, April 2

“To slow the spread of COVID-19, we need to close all childcare centres, not just those attached to schools."

The province closed all childcare centres attached to schools in March and began repurposing them to focus on childcare for health care staff and other essential workers.

"We need childcare solutions for essential workers that don’t involve grouping those workers’ kids together in significant numbers," Meili said.

The NDP instead suggests "in-home or very-small-group care" for essential workers' kids.

Currently, the province limits daycares to no more than eight children, unless the facility can be divided in a way where a maximum of eight children a dedicated space, such as a room.

Any changes to a daycare space to separate children must be done in accordance with the Saskatchewan Child Care Guidelines for Care, the province says on its website.

Also among the NDP recommendations are grants for operators who close to pay employees without charging parents, an assurance no parents will lose their childcare spaces due to COVID-19 and a wage top-up for childcare staff caring for essential workers' kids.