Quebec calculating how many subsidized daycare spots it can offer refugees

The Quebec government is assessing how many subsidizeddaycare spaces in its already crowded network it can offer Syrianrefugees, but a spokesperson for the family minister says currentwaiting lists will be respected.

All of Quebec's so-called institutional childcare centres arefull, and some parents have been waiting years to place theirchildren in one of the highly coveted spots.

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The only available subsidized daycare spaces are in family-runcentres, which are located in private homes and can receive up tosix children a day, said Nadia Caron, a spokeswoman for Quebec'sfamily minister.

She added however, that the government doesn't know how many ofthose spots are free.

Affordable daycare services will become increasingly importantfor many of the 7,000 Syrian refugees expected to arrive in Quebecby the end of 2016 as parents begin French-language courses andintegrate into the labour market.

Quebec heavily subsidizes roughly 228,000 daycare spaces acrossthe province and charges parents on a sliding scale, depending onfamily income.

The cheapest spots are $7.55 a day, per child. Parents whobenefit from government assistance don't pay for three days out offive.

No skipping lines

Caron said Syrian refugees are eligible for subsidized daycarespaces and also for government assistance, which would reducesignificantly the price of a spot if they can find one.

She said, however, that refugees will not be skipping the line.

"It's clear the waiting lists that exist will remain, out ofrespect for the families who are already waiting for the subsidizedspots," she said.

There are roughly 137,000 so-called institutional subsidizeddaycare spots in Quebec. All are wait list-only.

Additionally, according to Caron, family, home-run daycares have91,000 places available, and her department is trying to assess howmany spots are open in the regions where the bulk of the refugeesare expected to settle in the coming months.

"The count is happening now," she said. "We will then create abrochure and have all the information, including how and where tofind a daycare space for the Syrian families who request it."

Quebec still calculating spots

It is unclear exactly how many Syrians in Quebec require daycarespaces. The United Nations Refugee Agency estimates 52 per cent ofSyrian refugees are under the age of 18.

Marie-Eve Dolbec, a spokeswoman for the organization thatco-ordinates subsidized daycare spots for the government, saidrefugees will not be given special treatment in the hunt for theprized reduced-rate spot.

She said certain daycare centres that have ties to communityorganizations could, in theory, give priority to Syrian refugees.

"But I have not heard of any request to do that," she said.

There are also reduced-rate daycare spots in some communitycentres where refugees and immigrants learn French, but those placesare temporary and parents can no longer have access to the systemonce they complete their language courses.

Chantal Hudson, with the Syrian Canadian Council, said 98 percent of the roughly 2,600 Syrian refugees who have already arrivedin Quebec have been privately sponsored by families or communityorganizations.

She said as more government-sponsored refugees arrive over thenext weeks and months people who have minimal contacts in theprovince there will likely be more pressure on the province forchildcare options.

Hudson said her organization has already helped roughly 60 Syrianrefugees "and the majority of the families we have so far workedwith have children who are quite young."

The Quebec government has set aside $29 million to settle 7,000refugees by the end of 2016. It is unclear if that sum includesfunds for daycare or if the province will be asking the federalgovernment for financial help for additional child services.