The waitlist for daycare spaces in Quebec grows significantly despite more spending

QUEBEC CITY -

The waitlist for a childcare space continues to grow in Quebec despite the creation of new spaces, according to the latest data obtained by The Canadian Press.

The updated dashboard from the ministry of families, a copy of which was obtained by the news agency, shows the number of children waiting for a place has jumped by 3,724 in the past year to 37,260.

Yet since October 2021, 20,436 subsidized places have been created in the network, representing 16,887 new places and 3,549 place conversions, according to government data.

The arrival of thousands of asylum seekers could explain the lengthening waitlist, according to Quebec's statistics institute (ISQ), which produces and analyzes data for the government.

It found that 5,901 immigrant children aged 0 to 4 were added to the list between 2021 and 2022. Of these children, 80 per cent are asylum seekers (4,730).

It should be noted that asylum seekers only have access to non-subsidized places. The waitlist, also known as Place 0-5, includes all types of daycare centres.

In 2022, the Superior Court ruled that asylum seekers had the right to send their children to subsidized daycare, but the Legault government appealed.

A petition launched by Quebec solidaire and signed by nearly 2,000 people emphasized last spring that subsidized childcare is "an important integration tool" for new arrivals.

The petition called on the government to recognize the need to include families waiting for their applications to be processed and families without status in the network of subsidized childcare services.

The figure of 37,260 does not include the 44,647 children on the list who do not immediately need a place, nor the 29,612 pregnant women who are pre-registered.

Asked to respond, the office of Family Minister Suzanne Roy said: "Every family waiting for a place is one too many. Our goal is to complete the network and make it more equitable."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 15, 2023.