The lack of daycare places is contributing to the impoverishment of families in Quebec, while parents already struggling to make ends meet are forced to stay home and deprive themselves of a salary they desperately need.
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With one parent staying home due to duty, some families admitted to the Journal that they are having to turn to food banks for the first time in their lives.
Others forego medication because the skyrocketing cost of living and the associated financial losses no longer allow them to “treat” their children.
This is the sad reality experienced by a family from Saint-Amable in Montérégie with four children, including an 18-month-old baby and a 3-year-old boy who shows symptoms of the autism spectrum.
The couple’s family income fell by about $30,000 because the mother was unable to return to the workforce after her maternity leave in January.
“I should be at work, but there is no room for my children, especially because I have one that needs more attention,” said Manon Royer, a poultry worker. With only one salary, I can tell you that times are difficult,” the lady adds nervously.
Last May, hundreds of families marched through the streets of Quebec to demand financial support for parents forced to stay at home due to a lack of daycare space. The government has always rejected this proposal, preferring to work on improving accessibility on the network rather than sending checks. PHOTO MARCEL TREMBLAY/AGENCE QMI
“Let down by the system”
In complete transparency, the mother admits that she has knocked on the doors of organizations that help people in need, especially Centraide.
“With a rental of $1,300, the vehicle and all the expenses, you want to know what we’re doing to get there. We go hard, sir, we go hard,” says Ms. Royer, who says she lives with a lot of stress and anxiety.
The latter contacted the offices of her constituency’s representatives at the provincial and federal levels to be eligible for certain programs from which she is currently unable to benefit.
“The government takes family income into account in the 2022 tax report. But the reality has been ours since January 2023. In 2022 we did not have the same salaries. We are being let down by the system,” she laments.
“I’m not against financial aid to other countries, but I think we should also take care of our world. »
Oriane Couchoux Photo provided by Oriane Couchoux
A sad reality
The president of Ma place au travail, a movement that has denounced the lack of daycare places since 2021, says she hears worrying stories like Manon Royer’s every week.
However, in the current economic context, she is not surprised that families are hitting rock bottom.
“It breaks my heart and is disturbing at the same time […] It’s a reality that families never expected,” says Oriane Couchoux with emotion.
The President also recalls that even for families who have secured a place in a private childcare facility, the end of the month is coming very quickly because the costs, sometimes very high, are difficult to bear in the current economic environment, despite reimbursements.
“The reimbursement provided in the private sector is about $42 a day, but today there is no private place for $42. It costs about $65 and can go up to over $90,” she explains.
According to the organization, the problem remains even though the Quebec government has made great efforts to create daycare places, and the solution is financial support for parents who are “forced” to stay at home.
“We have literally sacrificed a generation of new families. Even if the big construction site [de la CAQ] When the project is completed in 5 or 10 years and there are places available in the daycare center, the families who are currently struggling will have spent their early childhood years in poverty,” concludes Ms. Couchoux.
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