The Manitoba government is extending financial support to protect families and early learning and child-care (ELCC) facilities affected by the move to remote learning as part of the province’s public health measures, and is increasing the funding by $500,000 to bring the investment to $2.4 million.
“Our government has been regularly communicating with the early learning and child-care sector and parents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure we are providing targeted and responsive supports,” said Families Minister Rochelle Squires. “Service providers have told us the extension of remote learning will result in increased financial pressures due to the loss of parent fees and we are pleased to provide this protection.”
Earlier this month, the province committed up to $1.9 million to support and protect families and ELCC facilities as schools in Winnipeg and Brandon moved to remote learning because of public health measures. This additional funding brings the total investment to $2.4 million as students in Winnipeg and Brandon remain in remote learning until June 7, and as schools in the Red River Valley and Garden Valley school divisions have moved to remote learning until June 7. Students in Dauphin will be in remote learning until June 9.
The move to remote learning is affecting approximately 10,890 child-care spaces or 83 per cent of the school-aged spaces in the province, the minister said.
In response to these pressures, licensed centres and child-care homes will be able to apply for additional funding support to offset their losses of parent fees for kindergarten and school-aged children.
Parents of children in these spaces will not be expected to pay child-care fees during this time, while the province provides the funding to affected ELCC facilities to offset their losses of revenue. Families will also retain their child-care spaces during this period. The funding will be provided to the facilities in addition to their continued operating grants, the minister said.
