Iqaluit daycares feel squeeze from shortage of spaces

Parents with children at Iqaluit's only Inuit-language daycare say they hope they will receive more funding soon, to address a serious shortage of spaces and a long waiting list.

Only 20 spaces are available for children at Tumikuluit Saipaaqivik daycare, which opened in July 2007. About 150 children are currently on the daycare's waiting list.

That means it may take up to two years before a child can attend Tumikuluit, which provides care entirely in the Inuktitut language and teaches Inuit culture to children.

"Three of my older children understand Inuktitut but do not speak it. My youngest [child] here is the only one who is able to speak it," Maggie Qappik, a mother of four whose daughter Anita attends Tumikuluit, told CBC News in Inuktitut.

"Now that we have a daycare, it is helping her a lot. There should be more."

Tumikuluit, which translates into "small footprints," is one of six daycares in Iqaluit. It's estimated that a total of about 500 Iqaluit children are waiting for daycare spots across the city.

As the only daycare that offers full Inuktitut programming, Tumikuluit is attracting Inuit parents who are concerned about their children losing their traditional language and cultural values.

Looee Arreak, a member of the society that runs the Tumikuluit daycare, said she would like to see more space and better financial support for the facility, which currently receives funding from the Nunavut government's healthy children development program.

"Preferably we would like to see a bigger place here in Iqaluit — one that will be better financially supported, and one that will go towards Inuit culture," Arreak said in Inuktitut.

A strong Inuit-language daycare would have a very positive impact on the next generation of Inuit, she added.

"We have also learned from parents that children who spoke mainly English before entering now speak well in Inuktitut, and have learned to communicate well in Inuktitut," she said.