Some daycare operators say they’re on the brink of collapse with many having to close for short or extended periods and with little or no direction from the government department which oversees them.

Gail Sullivan, owner of Happy Times, says they are getting the run-around from the Department of Education so much so that she’s calling on owners and operators to band together and form an association to act on their behalf.

Perhaps most aggravating was the erroneous information they received from the department regarding the rules following a positive test in the daycare setting. Child care centres are deemed an essential service but Sullivan says Education told them they would have to shut down for two weeks. She found out otherwise—on her own.

Public Health guidelines require daycares to shut down for five days. Sullivan says the Department of Education should have been telling them that all along—they are “mind-blown,” says Sullivan.

As for parents still having to pay the fees even when their daycare centre is closed, Sullivan says their expenses do not change whether children are in the building or not.