In a session on Monday (September 18th) Bluewater Council tackled the availability of daycare facilities.
Following a letter from the Bayfield Childcare Committee, presented to council on September 5th, staff were directed to evaluate the need for childcare facilities in the area.
The report presented to the council outlined the current childcare landscape, revealing significant shortages in available spaces. The report showed that every existing daycare center was operating at or nearing full capacity or had temporarily closed due to staff shortages.
The demand for before and after-school programs was also high, with programs at schools in Exeter, Hensall, and Zurich reaching full capacity.
A significant concern was the extensive waitlist, with 270 families awaiting childcare services in the area.
Councillor Whetstone said that while other municipalities do administrate daycares, choosing to do so would not fix the problem in Bluewater.
He also highlighted the urgency of the issue, mentioning that some people had to quit their jobs to provide childcare, and there was a need to address the root causes.
Mayor Paul Klopp raised the issue of training requirements for daycare workers, suggesting that the province might need to reevaluate these requirements to address the staffing crisis.
Councilor Bailey noted that the compensation for these positions was a significant factor in the level of staff vacancies.
In response to these concerns, council agreed to examine wages and education requirements for daycare workers and send a letter to provincial authorities to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the community.
They hoped that by highlighting these issues, they could work towards finding solutions to the childcare crisis, ensuring that working parents in Bluewater have access to the childcare services they need.
Written by: B. Shakyaver