Assurances by the provincial government that $10-per-day daycare will continue for another year are raising more questions than answers.

People who work in the sector were of the understanding that inexpensive child care was in place for 10 years – from 2021 to 2031.

Several proposed changes to the program were sent out to operators by government last month, sparking concerns about what it could mean for the $10-a-day program as a whole as government was uncertain that the subsidized fee would even be in place for the next year.

Now, the province says that fee schedule will continue through the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and funding will continue to be based on enrollment – not attendance.

Erin Cullen, a founding member of ABCs and ECEs, says this province is significantly short of spaces and sowing doubt about the $10 fee does nothing to improve the situation.

“The government is saying the program is good for one more year, but what happens next year?” wonders Cullen. “Only four in ten children have access to a regulated daycare space as it is.”