Manitoba spending $1M to create 68 fully subsidized child-care spots for newcomer families
CBC
The province is spending more than $1 million on a pilot project that will create more than 60 fee-free child-care spaces for newcomers in Manitoba's labour market.
The funding announcement is a partnership with the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, which earlier this summer launched an online newcomer employment hub that pairs newcomers with Manitoba employers, Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko said at a news conference on Thursday.
"This initiative will help newcomers find care for their children more easily, allowing them to find meaningful employment and enter into Manitoba's labour market," he said.
By April 2023, the entirety of the $1 million will support 68 fully subsidized licensed child-care spaces for these newcomer families, Ewasko said.
The new spaces will be for those who take part in the newcomer employment hub program.
"This includes Ukrainians living in Manitoba on a permanent or temporary basis who have signed up for the hub program," Ewasko said.
Initially, 12 spots will open — which is big news for newcomers, said Shereen Denetto, executive director of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM).
"It's a huge increase in terms of access to child care for us, so we're really pleased with that number as a starting point," she said.
The news is especially welcome in light of the federal government's ambitious plan to welcome hundreds of thousands of newcomers to Canada every year for the next two years in order expand the economy and fill labour shortages.
"We will have a lot of migration to the province, so the need is only going to grow," Denetto said.
There is currently no other program like this for job-seekers in the province, she said.
"A program where we're partnering with the idea of finding employment and addressing the barrier of child care is new to us, so we're super excited to be part of this pilot."
The child-care spots are only in Winnipeg at this point.
Depending on how the pilot project goes, more than 68 child-care spaces may open up.
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