Excerpts
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In May 2023, the CCPA released an updated report on ‘child care deserts’ across Canada. Based on 2021 census data, Nova Scotia had 47% of young children under 4 living in child care deserts. In the HRM, that number is 35%.
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"When we think about Nova Scotia, they love that they have met that $10 per day target for most of their spaces," says Thompson. "But we have so few spaces across the province then meeting that goal isn't all that impressive, right?
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Infant spaces have been especially hard to come by in Nova Scotia, as noted by CCPA-NS director Christine Saulnier in an article in the Halifax Examiner in May 2023 who likened finding infant child care to a 'treasure hunt.'
However, the province says dis-aggregated data on age-specific space creation is forthcoming.
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"And when we think about moving forward with the childcare program, families need to experience the positive effects of having access to childcare so that it becomes and remains politically viable in the years ahead.”
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The spokesperson with the department says multiple funding programs beyond large construction projects were always a part of their plan to meet the agreement's commitments, and that "the two newly announced programs were developed in the fall and are now being rolled out to diversify opportunities for space creation. We continue to explore new opportunities based on the needs of the sector and space creation progress."
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