Applicants for child care operator licences in Saskatchewan say they’re being denied

As many parents know, it can be difficult to find a daycare in the city that’s close to home. But what doesn’t help is that applications put in by child care providers are being denied.

“I have like 15 people in my area who do not have licensed day cares around them and have to travel like really long,” said Kinza Nissar, a child care operating applicant.

Kinza and her family have been involved in child care for over a year, but they closed their service when her sister went to pursue further education.

After six months, she and her mother wanted to open up again. They applied for a licence in January but were denied.

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“I was very mad and a little sad because we have been running a licensed daycare for like a year and we had invested a lot of money and time and effort into it, and like the 10 people who were already enlisted into a daycare, we had to tell them that, ‘Oh I’m sorry we have to like close it,’” said Nissar.

In a letter to applicants, the province said they were not approving new licences in their area.

And with a growing system, they are shifting focus from rapid expansion to stabilization, even hoping to provide opportunities for childcare in rural communities.

But the opposition party says they have been hearing frustrations from people across the province.

“This is hard work. No one is getting rich off of providing child care to families who need it. And we have people willing to do that work and the government is saying, ‘No thanks, we don’t need your help.’ We’re not in a position to be turning away people,” said Matt Love, Opposition education critic.

In a statement, the Ministry of Education says as of May 31st, they are close to hitting their target of 28,000 child care spaces.

They also say applications have not been rejected but rather held to assess the need in specific communities.

Watch the video above for more on childcare providers in the province.