School closures to mark Queen Elizabeth’s death creates problems for parents

The four Atlantic provinces, British Columbia and Yukon all declared Monday a holiday for provincial and territorial public-sector employees, including teachers and school staff.

Workers are scrambling to find last-minute child care in several provinces after governments announced the sudden closure of schools to mourn Queen Elizabeth.

The four Atlantic provinces, British Columbia and Yukon all declared Monday a holiday for provincial and territorial public-sector employees, including teachers and school staff.

Yet most private-sector businesses will remain open, leaving many workers struggling to find child care or in some cases taking the day off unpaid.

Kristine Grace, a Dartmouth, N.S.-based mother of two children in Grades 5 and 2, said the decision to honour the queen’s funeral service by giving public-sector workers a holiday is disappointing.

She said closing schools but not declaring a full statutory holiday puts many workers in a child-care bind.

Grace said after two years of pandemic-related school disruptions, it’s frustrating for families to once again be forced to grapple with a sudden closure.

“I do think these sorts of decisions disproportionately affect women,” she said. “It’s also a missed opportunity to discuss the monarchy in Canada and maybe hold an assembly during the funeral service or have a moment of silence.”

Judy Haiven, a researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and retired Saint Mary’s University professor, said it’s a “charade” to claim that Monday is a holiday when only civil servants get the day off.