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AACE Applauds Alberta Government for Including Private Operators, But Needs More Information

Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs logo

Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs is a not-for-profit comprised of childcare operators from across the province. Its goal is to advocate for choice in childcare that supports both families and operators.

AACE believes the AB Gvt. negotiated the best agreement possible w/ the Federal Government, which is clear on its desire to build a fully not-for-profit system

CALGARY, AB, CANADA, January 31, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs (AACE), an industry association created to keep private, for-profit childcare a choice for Alberta families, applauds the Government of Alberta for its announcement of additional for-profit child care spaces and for managing to include the for-profit sector in its agreement with the Government of Canada. While the Association is pleased to see that the for-profit sector has been included, the association and its members will need more information before fully understanding the impact the agreement will have on their operations and ability to remain commercially viable.

“The Government of Canada has been very clear about its desire to build a national child care system with not-for-profit child care operators – something that would have destroyed Alberta’s mixed-market child care sector,” said AACE Chair, Krystal Churcher. “We know that the Alberta Government has been working diligently to have the for-profit sector, which makes up almost 70% of Alberta’s child care providers, included and we believe they did the best they could given the federal government’s ideological push away from private child care delivery in Canada.”

While the Government’s announcement includes the outcome of its negotiations with the federal government, there continue to be many unanswered questions that will impact how child care operators will respond to today’s news. For example, today’s announcement is contingent on the Cost Control Framework and For-Profit Expansion Plan and the industry will need more time to fully understanding how these agreements will impact on their operations.

AACE has also expressed concerns with the Government of Alberta related to the drastically increased administrative burden the federal-provincial child care agreement has placed on child care operators, the fact that child care operators have been asked to carry the cost of the program for up to 45 days before receiving subsidy payments, as well as fee caps in context of very high inflation and a growing tax burden, amongst other significant challenges the industry has faced since the agreement with the federal government was announced and implemented.

Questions also exits about how these additional spaces will be distributed and whether the families of current child care operators who are running unfunded spaces will be given access to these funds.

“While AACE applauds today’s announcement as a good first step, our members continue to have many unanswered questions about how the agreement will be implemented and whether further announcements will alleviate the many concerns we hear daily from child care operators struggling to stay in business as a result of burdens and restrictions placed on them by the federal-provincial agreement,” continued Churcher. “We trust that the Alberta Government will be making further announcements very soon and we will be able to respond more fully as this critical information becomes available.”

The Association of Alberta Child Care Operators has supported the concept of affordable child care since the federal-provincial agreements were first reached, but believe that private child care operators have paid a very large financial and emotional price, with many operators facing significant debt and the possibility of bankruptcy if more support does not come soon. Alberta’s private child care operators have felt targeted by what they believe to be an ideological agenda at the federal level that does not respect how the industry has developed in Alberta and the significant investments that entrepreneurs – many that are women and immigrants – have made to support the child care needs of Alberta’s families for decades.

About Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs

Association of Alberta Childcare Entrepreneurs is a not-for-profit comprised of childcare operators from across the province. Its goal is to advocate for choice in childcare that supports both families and operators.

For more information, or to become a member, visit https://www.abchildcare.org/.

Peter Pilarski
CIPR Communications
+1 403-462-1160
peter@ciprcommunications.com