It’s a quick boost when you have three kids, notes a mother she met outside the Center Sablon in Montreal.
With transport and food prices rising to keep pace with inflation, day camps and vacation camps compete with other employers for the best young workers.
With summer coming, it’s a must for many parents: they need to find a day camp for the kids. And vacation camp prices aren’t immune to inflation. The prices are likely to rise. Kim Vermette’s report.
For Éric Czerniecki, manager of two camps in Montreal and Carignan, recruitment starts in January because the number of employees determines the number of children he can take. Compared to previous years, he says, he’s getting far fewer applications. Now it’s coming drop by drop, so we’ll jump on it if there’s a good one, he says.
Mr. Czerniecki also mentions that salary negotiations are now more common and that it’s not uncommon for an employee to give up at the last minute when they’ve found something better elsewhere, even if they’ve increased their wages by about $2 an hour. In his team, which consists of about twenty young people, wages range from $17 to $20 an hour.
As a result, prices have followed a similar curve and registrations now cost 5% to 7% more. In Gatineau, where prices have not risen since 2006, it’s as much as 30% to more evenly balance families and the city.
And these price increases hit parents’ wallets, especially in large families where summer bills can run into thousands of dollars.
“Before, we only made two payments. Now they can make up to six payments in six months, but even then it’s still a lot of money. »
— A quote from Éric Czerniecki, Director General of the camp
Yes, it costs more in the beginning, but in the end, when you get your tax return, it costs less than it appears, mentions a father who met in Montreal.
An opinion shared by David Bouchard, general manager of the Multi-Plus leisure center in Trois-Rivières. A seven-week camp, which costs $1,015 this year, costs between $150 and $300 for a family from Trois-Rivières, depending on the family situation. If that didn’t exist, we would really have problems, says Mr Bouchard. However, he agrees that some parents are finding it more difficult to advance funds and that the government could take action in this regard.
On to ghost squares
However, presenter recruitment appears to be less difficult now that COVID-19-related health regulations have been lifted. Alumni retention is much better this year as it is no longer necessary to work with a mask, notes Éric Beauchemin, general manager of the Association des Camps du Québec, which oversees around 1,000 holiday camp and camp sites.
Éric Beauchemin is Director General of the Association des camps du Québec.
Photo: Radio Canada
However, Mr Beauchemin points out that recruitment remains a challenge and this is affecting the number of places available. Some camps fill up an hour after registration opens, he adds. However, he advises parents To on waiting lists, as other places could be offered if the camp hires other animators.
Due to current events, the ACQ recommends that parents contact us as soon as possible in the event of a cancellation so that the space that has become free can be used by another child on a waiting list and does not become a ghost space.
With information from Kim Vermette