Nunavik childcare centres to remain closed this week, despite province reopening
Regional government says May 11 is too soon and opening will happen gradually
The Kativik Regional Government announced on May 7 that daycares, such as Tumiapiit Childcare Centre in Kuujjuaq, seen here, will not reopen on May 11 unlike many across the province of Quebec. (Photo courtesy of the KRG)
Childcare centres in Nunavik will not open this week unlike many across Quebec, as the province eases restrictions put in place for the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kativik Regional Government announced in a Facebook post on May 7 that opening daycares on Monday, May 11, as the provincial government proposed, would be too early.
“Instead, the childcare centres in Nunavik will remain closed until further notice. They will not open at full capacity right away. They will open progressively,” the post continued.
Premier Francois Legault announced the May 11 reopening of daycares, along with schools, on April 27. (Montreal was the exception to this announcement, as there remains a high number of COVID-19 cases there.)
Nunavik’s school board, Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, had already announced in late March that schools would not reopen for the remainder of the term.
More information on the reopening of daycares will be released in the coming days, according to the KRG’s childcare services division. That information will include new guidelines around childcare centres reopening.
The Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services announced on May 5 that all 16 individuals in the region who had contracted COVID-19 had since recovered.
Nonetheless, the board said precautions remain in place and this does not mean the region is free of the threat of the novel coronavirus.
God , I hope , that we all start going back to work soon
There are some serious issues in opening daycares even without the corona virus concerns. Some childcare workers never bother to show up. As a parent of 3, I’ve paid about 2 years worth of daycare fees and one of my sons never attended daycare and the other one started daycare very late. It’s very frustrating that they do not manage the daycares correctly, and when they do, it has to take the wicked corona virus to actually happen.
There’s two daycares in Kuujjuaq. Sorry to say, but it’s great that service is no longer available. I’m not going to say open , because it’s absolutely terrible with days that they were never open to our kids. Room closed because of staff that don’t show up is deplorable. It’s the best thing that ever happen for our kids that they no longer attend daycare there. I’m always concerned also with the quality of staff and the quality of care our kids get or don’t get, many are picked off the street, given a quick course in childhood education and not even finished high school, or have no motivation to work with children. Great that they don’t open. Bingo.
There is less gossiping in town now now that daycare is closed.
Also, it was so personal here that when an educator.or their families had a problem with a parent, they took it out on the child.
You go nowhere with the complaints because the regional supervisor just laughs at you when you complain and they are best friends with the directors at head office so they get away with lousy supervision.
Daycare would probably be closed while they go on nice trips for ‘training’ anyways
It’s probably the worst daycare in the province if not the country. After bingo and beer nights, no show the next day for many staff.
Kids go from bad to worst here in Nunavik. First they’re put in a setting all day long with what is called educators, (not educated), then they go on to graduate to first years of school with, local, what is called teachers(again not educated), trying to be taught in Inuktitut with the what we call teachers(not competent in any language) little bits of Inuktitut mixed in terrible English. Then, yes, then we wonder why we are going nowhere with an educated society, and delinquent young adult and grownups
I worked in a daycare in Nunavik. It was lucky if it got cleaned once a week. Don’t even mention the toys never getting cleaned unless an educator was bored. Yes, bored. No one washes their hands. Massive lack of cleaning supplies. No hand sanitizer.
Now let’s try to get these educators to remember to wash hands. To wear gloves. To wear masks. This is just a disaster waiting to happen.
Absolutely agree with you on poor hygiene, but it’s equally poor quality too. The kids and families are far better off not having these poor quality daycares. It rots the growth and development of our children, thereby contributing to a troubled society. It’s just terrible.
Wish they could open for essential workers. Even if they can pay our baby sitters but it’s hard to find 1. Having to miss work and hardly getting full pay is hard for bills. But knowing it’s for our kids safety