Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum chats with the children at Cairns Children's Centre (in École R.H.G. Bonnycastle School) in Winnipeg, just before he announced details of the construction of more than 250 new, high-quality, affordable child care spaces that will help families in Winnipeg, St. Andrews and Oak Lake.

February 19, 2014

PROVINCE ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON MORE THAN 250 NEW, HIGH-QUALITY, AFFORDABLE CHILD-CARE SPACES

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Four New Centres, One Expansion will help Families in Winnipeg, St. Andrews, Oak Lake: Minister Allum

Families in Winnipeg, St. Andrews and Oak Lake will have greater access to some of the best, most‑affordable licensed child care in Canada with the creation of more than 250 new child-care spaces at four new centres and one existing site, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today.
“More parents will soon have access to the child care they need to be able to work, support their families and thrive in their communities,” Minister Allum said.  “Under Family Choices, we have funded more high-quality, licensed and reliable child-care options than ever before in Manitoba because it’s a priority for families.”
The minister said the new spaces will be created with an investment of about $9 million and will include:

• 74 more spaces in an expansion of Cairns Children’s Centre in École R.H.G. Bonnycastle School in the Waverley Heights area of Winnipeg.  The child-care centreis expected to receive approximately $2.5 million in provincial capital support with work planned to start this spring.
• 64 new spaces at a new early learning and child-care centre to be added to Highbury School in south Winnipeg.  The new spaces will be created with capital funding of more than $2.2 million.  Construction is expected to begin this spring.
• 40 new spaces at St. Andrews Child Care, a new centre located next to St. Andrews School in St. Andrews.  The new construction is being funded with a commitment of almost $2 million in capital support and construction is expected to be essentially complete in the spring of 2015.
• 20 new spaces with the establishment of a new child-care centre program at Oak Lake Community School in Oak Lake.  A facility constructed next to the school is receiving approximately $640,000 in provincial capital support with construction beginning in the next few weeks.
• As many as 74 spaces to be created with about $2 million in new capital support as part of an addition to École Tache, operated by at Le P´tit Bonheur.

Provincial legislation now requires child-care centres to be included in schools whenever a new school is built or is undergoing major renovations.

Manitoba has nearly 32,500 licensed child-care spaces for infant, preschool and school-age children including those with additional support needs.  Since 1999, the Manitoba government has increased the number of funded spaces by more than 80 per cent, providing care for children in centres, homes and nursery schools across the province, Minister Allum said.
The overall budget for child care in Manitoba is more than $147 million, which reflects growth of more than 174 per cent since 1999, the minister said.  There are more than 660 licensed centres across Manitoba with almost half located in schools.  As well, there are more than 400 licensed family child-care homes in the province.  
Manitoba maintains the second-lowest regulated child-care fees in Canada, the minister added.
More information about Family Choices, Manitoba’s strategy to further improve child care, is available at www.gov.mb.ca/fs/childcare.

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