The method used to calculate the CAQ to determine the number of children waiting for a daycare place is not accepted by the families of the movement My workplace who will launch an offensive tomorrow against the government of François Legault.
The organization, which has nearly 20,000 subscribers, invites parents to get involved by posting a photo of their child on Facebook with the hashtag #monenfantcomptepas.
This action follows an article by Radio-Canada which revealed this week that instead of 33,000 children waiting for a place in subsidized childcare, there are 72,000 young children, adding those registered from September 2022 to December 2023.
Marylin Dion, spokeswoman for Ma place au travail, explains that the mobilization aims to uncover the faces of the 39,000 children who “do not count for the CAQ. »
“The data from 33,000 children is not at all representative of the situation and we want to show the Ministry of Family Affairs what the situation is when we count the children that are not included in the dashboard,” she explains.
“Caught in the Throat”
The group points out that we need to add to this list all parents who are currently required to send their children to private daycare and who are unhappy with their situation.
“There is a very big issue of accessibility for families. Parents who pay as much as their mortgage for their child’s daycare get caught in the throat. It doesn’t make any sense,” laments Ms. Dion.
The initiator of the Ma place au travail movement and candidate for Québec Solidaire in the last election, Myriam Lapointe-Gagnon, has chosen to write an open letter to express her dismay at the lack of childcare places that parents continue to face worried.
“Mr Legault, again, we cannot blame the Liberals for the current crisis. As far as I know, it was not the Liberals who counted the number of missing places,” we can read in his letter.
Ms Lapointe-Gagnon reports that educators continue to leave their profession for better-paying jobs, which she says is a problematic situation.
Photo courtesy of Ma place au travail
requirements
By mobilizing parents on social networks, Ma place au travail wants to be heard. In addition, the speaker makes three demands on the CAQ government.
First, she wants explanations of the dashboard data and a realistic picture of the situation.
In addition, she believes that an independent company should validate the waiting list figures in order to get an objective picture.
Finally, for several months, the group has been asking for temporary financial help for families who have had to forego a salary by staying at home.
“Parents rolled in flour”
The interim leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec was virulent during Question Time in the National Assembly last Thursday.
Briefed on the new daycare dates, Marc Tanguay said that “parents have been rolled in flour” by the CAQ government.
Prime Minister François Legault undeterred defended his family minister, Suzanne Roy.
“If we look at the number of places that are needed, we cannot look at the places that we will need in the coming years. We have a fixed date to look at the places we need, and then the minister called exactly the right number. »
open letter
All the kids that don’t count
Myriam Lapointe-Gagnon, founder of the Ma place au travail group
On Thursday, February 23, 2023, Radio-Canada revealed that the number of 33,000 children waiting for a place in kindergarten, which the Minister for Family Affairs has been hammering at us for months, is not good. In fact, it would be more like 72,000 children who would need a place in the short term; that is, before August 30, 2023. Questioned on this issue by the various opposition parties, the Prime Minister made statements that were far from convincing. Mr Legault, again, we cannot blame the Liberals for the current crisis. As far as I know, it wasn’t the Liberals who counted the number of missing places.
Calculation methods have changed so often that nobody understands anything anymore. We underestimate the jobs that are missing while not counting the jobs that continue to be lost as educators leave the profession for better-paying jobs. In addition, the figure of 72,000 excludes tens of thousands of parents who are waiting for a funded place and are dissatisfied with their current environment. We also do not count refugee and asylum-seeking children for whom we do not consider it necessary to offer a place.
The current spokesman for the Ma place au travail group has been patient since taking office. This week she changed her tone. She named what thousands of parents are feeling: a dull rage at not being seen by the government. On the part of the Department of Family Affairs, we’ve been sharing heaps of good news and have been popping our braces for months. We are presented with beautiful evolution tables that are difficult to decipher. Parents don’t want tables, they want freedom, transparency and emergency financial help when they take unpaid leave.
In the final round of questions, MP Sol Zanetti suggested that an independent firm should analyze the data from places 0-5 in order to win back the trust of families and opposition parties. However, the Minister rejected this request on the pretext that it was not the figures that interested families. The problem is that parents want their children to matter and exist in the eyes of the Department of Family Affairs. These children, who have been waiting for a place since August 31, 2022, exist and so do their parents.
How can we assess an issue and find a budget to match when the numbers are halved? It’s like trying to build a bridge between two shores, but we’ve halved the mileage it takes to get there. We won’t get there. We’re going to fall in the water, the whole gang, the parents and the kids first. Will the government be spattered this time? Will the promises made to us today be broken, as in the case of the 4-year kindergarten? For all the kids that don’t count, I hope that won’t be the case.
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