On Wednesday, October 4, Ritchot’s council took the first steps toward creating new daycare spots in the community of Ile-des-Chenes. To set the project in motion, council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution to provide a serviced two-acre lot for the daycare’s use.

“The province of Manitoba has made a commitment to find daycare spots for 23,000 over the next [four years], till 2026,” CAO Mitch Duval told council. “This is a pilot project spearheaded by John Q Built, which is a subsidiary of the Winnipeg Metro Region. We are looking at having nine of the pilot projects throughout the region and Ritchot is fortunate enough to have one of them.”

Duval added that a number of potential locations have been identified, but not everyone is in agreement just yet.

It is unclear exactly how many new daycare spots will be allocated to Ritchot.

Few details are also forthcoming on whether a new facility will be created or if the additional spots will be added to the current daycare spaces in the TC Energy Centre.

Councillors Curtis Claydon and Rob Mamchuk demonstrated enthusiasm over what this announcement means to residents of the community.

“This is a very good project for Ile-des-Chenes,” Mamchuk said. “I’m very pleased to see this is getting off the ground.”

The promise of new daycare spots for Ritchot comes in the wake of a recent announcement by the federal and provincial governments promising to provide $8.1 million in new childcare funding.

The grants will mean the addition of more than 3,100 new daycare spots across the province spread out between 177 different facilities.

“These investments provide operating grant funding to all early learning and childcare facilities with spaces on the current waitlist,” Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced in a press release this summer. “This funding will support and build the capacity of existing childcare facilities across Manitoba to provide affordable, high-quality programming while working toward our goal to create 23,000 new and newly funded full-time regulated care spaces by 2026.”

Also announced this summer was the allocation of almost $37 million towards the implementation of a wage grid supplement which will encourage more equitable wage rates for those working in the early learning childcare sector, specifically those caring for children under seven years of age.

The supplement came into effect on July 1. Funded childcare facilities are eligible for a 12 percent increase in revenue per space in order to facilitate improved wage scales for qualifying staff.

“The Manitoba government recognizes the invaluable service of the province’s childcare assistants and early childhood educators, and we are proud to be one of the first jurisdictions in Canada that is ready to proceed with implementing a wage grid to better support the early childhood learning workforce,” said Ewasko. “These important investments are part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring all Manitoba families, regardless of where in the province they live, have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child-care services.”