SCOTT MOE'S CHILDCARE DEAL NOT AS ADVERTISED

Families Expecting Cost Relief Learn This Week They’re Not Included In Deal Promised To Them By Sask. Party
SASKATOON – Countless Saskatchewan families expecting $10-per-day childcare will see their bills remain up to eight times more expensive after Scott Moe and his ministers failed to follow through on a proposed deal for a more affordable model.

In an announcement to childcare providers this past week, the Ministry of Education now states that children age six will only receive $10/day childcare if they are born after April 1. Any family with children born January 1-April 1 will instead be paying full price, anywhere from $30-$85/day.

In November 2025, the Government’s own news release stated that children age six would be covered:

“The extended agreements include expanded age eligibility so that children in childcare who turn six while attending Kindergarten can continue to receive $10 a day care until they complete the school year.”

At the time, Education Minister Hindley stated that adding six-year-olds to the agreement, “was something we just thought was common sense and we needed to achieve in the renegotiated agreement.”

“This government cannot be trusted — and now families are paying the price for another one of their failures,” said Carla Beck, Saskatchewan NDP Leader. “Scott Moe continues to hammer household budgets — sky-high power bills, car insurance rate hikes, taxes on groceries and children’s clothing and now, a continuation of expensive childcare when they were promised relief.

“Saskatchewan families can’t take more of Scott Moe’s cost hikes — it’s time for change.”

After the agreement changed, some childcare providers immediately contacted the ministry for clarification, only to find the government didn’t understand their own original agreement.

A formal response to a parent that was provided to the Official Opposition reads:

“Recently we received clarification related to children in regulated childcare, who are six years old and in kindergarten. Initially it was believed the children who met these parameters would be eligible for $10 a day childcare beginning April 1st even if they had previously aged out of the agreement. We now understand that as a new agreement begins in April, only those children who are still receiving the benefit prior to April 1st will be eligible. This mean any children who turned six prior to April 1, 2026, will not be eligible for the reduced.”

“How could you possibly get this so wrong?” said Joan Pratchler, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for Childcare & Early Learning. “This failure lies at the feet of Scott Moe and his Minister — they need to fix this and follow through on their promise.”

“The provincial government has had since November to announce the details about their new childcare agreement,” added Cara Warner of the Southeast Saskatchewan Directors Association. “Since then, they have failed to communicate with families, centers and directors. They finally announced that they would be excluding all children over six that had a birthday before April 1. That means that these families will now have to pay thousands of dollars between now and July for their children to remain in childcare until the end of their school year. This is causing undue hardship for families in Saskatchewan that rely on affordable childcare. It is unacceptable that these families are being allowed to slip through the cracks of this already strained system."

The Official Opposition is calling on the province to step in and amend the agreement for children who turned six between January and April 1st, so that families can continue to access affordable childcare in Saskatchewan.

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