Qikiqtani Inuit Association doubles its daycare subsidy

Les Petits Nanooks daycare is located within Les Trois Soleils French-language school in Iqaluit. (PHOTO COURTESY PETITSNANOOKS.CA)

The Qikiqtani Inuit Association has doubled its daycare subsidy for eligible parents in the region, the organization announced last week.

Last fall, the Baffin organization launched a $5-a-day subsidy for Inuit parents across the region who have children enrolled at licensed child care centres.

Now, the QIA said it’s bumping that subsidy to $10 per day.

“Access to affordable daycares gives children a head start and parents the opportunity to re-enter the workforce sooner,” said QIA President P. J. Akeeagok in an Aug. 9 release.

The increase, passed in a resolution at the QIA’s May meeting, is retroactive to April 1, 2018.

The increase means that Inuit parents who currently receive a separate daycare subsidy through the Kakivak Association—which administers the QIA’s daycare fund—can now receive up to $29 a day towards care.

Child care remains a pressing need in many Nunavut communities. In the spring of 2017, when the QIA toured the region’s 13 communities, its executives heard that access to affordable daycare was a priority for many families.

The QIA draws the subsidy from its Benefits Fund.

The daycare subsidy now represents an investment of $500,000 or $2,500 per child a year, the QIA said, which covers roughly 200 childcare spaces.

The subsidy is still a pilot program, which will run until March 2020.