EXCERPTS
Kakivak Association has raised its yearly support to Qikiqtani childcare centres to almost $2.3 million, up from $1.5 million annually previously.
Twenty-four childcare centres in the region rely on that funding. The extra money, retroactive to April 1, will support basic operations and allow for additional hiring of Inuit staff, according to a news release from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), Kakivak’s parent organization.
Kakivak has had an agreement with Employment and Social Development Canada to deliver the First Nation Inuit Child Care Initiatives program for the past two decades. The additional funding comes from the federal Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework.
“Supporting daycares and early childhood learning has been central to QIA’s work in the past few years,” says QIA President P.J. Akeeagok. “This boost in funding will give Qikiqtani daycares additional support to do their job of preparing our children for the future.”
“We know that these investments provide positive short and long-term outcomes for families,” adds Joe Attagutaluk, chair of the Kakivak Association’s board of directors.