The Nova Scotia NDP is criticizing the PC government over how they’ve handled childcare in the province.
They say Premier Tim Houston broke is promise of adding 1500 new childcare spaces by 2022. Through information that the NDP obtained via a freedom of information request, only 28 net new spaces have been added since Houston was elected in 2021.
“We have growing populations we are, you know, expanding our communities are growing, but yet we are not even thinking about the fact that we need childcare spaces,” said NDP Education and Early Childhood Development spokesperson Suzy Hansen.
She says the provincial government needs to come up with a detailed plan to help the thousands of parents across Nova Scotia who are struggling to find care for their kids.
The province has budgeted $277 million for investments in childcare this year. Recently, Nova Scotia announced new childcare spots would be opening in a handful of communities across the province. They’ll have to open fast because nearly half of the Nova Scotian children live in what’s considered a childcare desert, meaning less than a third of children in those areas have access to childcare.
“Finding childcare is extremely, extremely challenging when there’s not enough spaces. And there is a huge waitlist for childcare spaces,” said Hansen.
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