Quebec will allocate spots in subsidized daycare centers primarily to Quebecers, permanent residents, and foreign workers holding a closed work permit.
Asylum seekers, holders of open work permits, and international students will have to settle for the remaining spots.
Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) Families Minister Catherine Blouin announced Wednesday that she will soon table a draft regulation to implement these changes.
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Quebec had no choice but to revise its strategy after the Supreme Court struck down its ban on asylum seekers’ children accessing daycare at $9.65 per day.
During a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Blouin explained that, following a legal analysis, the government had found a “pragmatic” way to achieve its goals.
“We’re simply going to prioritize families who are already settled (…) in Quebec over asylum seekers, for example,” she said.
“We’re going to create two groups: Group A, consisting of people who are established in Quebec, and Group B, consisting of asylum seekers, foreign workers with open work permits, and students without scholarships.
“We’re not excluding them,” she defended herself. “Initially, the question was whether to exclude them. Now, we’re going to give them spots while prioritizing families in Quebec.”
According to the minister, “we have families in Quebec who are waiting for subsidized spots at $9.65, so (…) we think this is a good compromise; it’s pragmatic.”
The news was very poorly received by Québec solidaire (QS), which denounced the prioritization of families and a “new lottery system.”
“We thought Christine Fréchette wouldn’t play petty politics at the expense of children and asylum seekers, but with this announcement, it’s clear that the CAQ is sticking to its guns,” lamented QS MNA Andrés Fontecilla.
“This is a purely electioneering tactic to hide this government’s disastrous track record when it comes to funding our network of early childhood centers (CPEs).
“If the CAQ had kept its promise to expand the CPE network, we wouldn’t be in this situation. (…) What a smokescreen to try to shift the blame onto asylum seekers,” he added.
When asked after leaving a cabinet meeting, Premier Fréchette praised her families minister’s “very interesting” announcement.
“I think this addresses a concern among Quebecers—namely, ensuring daycare spots for the children of Quebecers and foreign workers settled here—so I’m very pleased,” she said.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
