Nova Scotia early childhood educators want clarification on new directives

As Nova Scotia tackles the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province announced a slew of new restrictions but said daycare centres should stay open unless they are dealing with active cases.

According to Premier Iain Rankin, daycares are needed to provide child care to the children of front-line workers.

Speaking at a Wednesday briefing, the premier called on parents who are working from home to voluntarily keep their children out of daycare during the two-week so-called circuit-breaker period. 

"We are asking people who are working from home to give up their space, if possible, to make room for the child or children of our front-line workers who can't work from home," he said. 

The province said parents will not be charged fees if they keep their children home and they will not lose their place in daycare when their child returns.

Margot Nickerson, an early childhood educator and president of a CUPE local representing about 200 ECEs in the Halifax area thinks daycare centres should be closed while the coronavirus is so prevalent in the province. 

She said people in the health-care sector believe the current environment is not safe for the staff at the centres or the children. Daycare staff are concerned and worried.

Nickerson said people in the early childhood care sector have told the government that site-specific programs and places should be set up to provide care for the children of front-line workers. 

"If we're going to just let them dribble in wherever they want to fit in to the existing centres, staffing is becoming an issue," she said. 

Nickerson said another issue that needs to be addressed is that daycare centres are not usually open overnight, but for many front-line workers on night shifts, that is when child care will be required.

Restrictions not practical

She said taking care of small children is labour intensive and requires staff to be in situations where physical distancing is impossible, like toileting and feeding.

Children aged two and over are now required to wear masks when indoors at a daycare, although there is an exception for those up to the age of four who can't or refuse to wear one. Nickerson drew reference to that when she said some of the government's new directives are not practical.

"This morning ... they all came proudly wearing the masks," Nickerson said. "And by the time we were finished, they were wet. It was a lot of mucus. They were on the ground and they were trading them with each other and bringing them to teachers if they found lost ones."

Nickerson said she hopes measures are put in place to ensure that centres don't lose revenue. She said many early childhood centres are already having a hard time making ends meet.

Nickerson also wants the province to clarify if child-care workers will continue to get paid if a centre has to close because of a positive COVID-19 test, as is the case in the public school system.

Parents react

Some parents who are working at home have already opted to take their children out of daycare for at least the next two weeks, even if it proves to be a challenge. 

Alva Bourque has a two-year-old son and a six-year-old daughter.

She said her daughter is able to follow protocols, but her son is too young to understand wearing a mask and also unable to communicate if anything is wrong.

Bourque said she and her husband took the decision to take both children out of daycare until at least the first half of May. 

"I haven't recovered from being tired from last year, but just like any mother would do, I'll wing it. I'll make it work," she said. 

Ralph Redden and his partner have a four-year-old son in daycare. He said they have been thinking about removing him temporarily for about a week, but let him go on Monday for his birthday. 

Redden said his son also went to daycare on Tuesday, but they took him home around midday when they saw that the number of new daily active cases was up to 96. 

"It was a utilitarian sort of thing to do to just remove someone from the equation that didn't necessarily need to be there," he said.

Redden said he and his family commend the leadership of the province for keeping the "emotional toil" in Nova Scotia "within reason."

Subsidies

A news release from the province late Wednesday said Nova Scotia was committed to supporting the sector for costs incurred in keeping child care centres open during the two-week period of enhanced restrictions. 

According to the release, "subsidies will be available on a sliding scale for families with an income less than $70,000."

The province said it will also continue to pay for personal protective equipment needed and emergency costs incurred by by early childhood education centres.

On Thursday, Education Minister Derek Mombourquette said the province had received about 145 requests from parents who work in essential services and needed a child-care spot.

He said the department is doing "whatever we can to help" child-care centres, including making sure they have enough personal protective equipment for staff and children.

"It's a big change for a small child to have to wear that mask ... We're confident that our early childhood educators will do the very best they can to ensure that masks are worn where necessary," he told CBC Radio's Mainstreet.

Mombourquette said he believes the added public health measures will keep operators and children safe during this third wave of the pandemic.

"Our early childhood sector is so important to the overall fight against COVID, and keeping those essential businesses open across our communities," he said.