Rosella Melanson: Hogan’s unforced error in childcare

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A parent committee delivered a masterful volley back into Minister Bill Hogan’s court last week.

Hogan had blamed the recent $500 million federal-provincial contract for affordable childcare centres in New Brunswick for his department’s slow progress creating new spaces. He complained it doesn’t give enough funds to for-profit centres and claimed there aren’t enough non-profit centres ready to expand.

“Yoo-hoo! over here!”, said the non-profit McLaughlin centre in Moncton. It has space for 121 preschoolers but was granted funding for 15 by Hogan. Those 15 are the only new francophone spaces created in Moncton, our fastest growing area.

Another centre in Miramichi is also clamouring for new spaces to ease its 100-family waitlist.

Hogan is still working on his serve and has not yet responded.

The federal minister replied she would be “happy to share best practices from other jurisdictions that are well on their way to reaching their new space targets in the not-for-profit sector.”

While the contract allows for some new for-profit spaces, it requires most of the expansion to happen in the non-profit sector and that for-profits be helped to transition.

Why? Research here and elsewhere consistently shows non-profit centres provide better care.

Hogan’s tactic was deftly predicted by New Brunswick’s Women’s Council last year: “The agreement and plan indicate that government knows a shift to increased non-profit delivery is needed, but it’s also clear it isn’t willing to explicitly say so. This concerns us. More worrying is that it may be attempting to leave the door open to back away from this shift.”

Rosella Melanson is a writer based in Fredericton.