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HEADINGLEY—Families in rural Manitoba will soon have better access to quality, affordable child care, as the first of eight new ready-to-move child-care centres opens in Headingley, Manitoba, Premier Heather Stefanson and Kevin Lamoureux, member of Parliament for Winnipeg North, announced here today.
“Our government is taking concrete action to provide affordable, accessible child care that meets the needs of all Manitobans, regardless of where they live,” said Stefanson. “The ready-to-move child-care project is an innovative and cost-effective approach to create more child-care spaces sooner. This is a game-changer in child-care spaces in rural Manitoba to meet rising needs.”
As previously announced, Canada and Manitoba have provided more than $94 million for two phases of the ready-to-move (RTM) child-care project, which uses a hybrid construction model to quickly develop spaces. The RTM model allows high-quality, new facilities to be built under controlled conditions before they are moved to the final site and placed on a permanent foundation. Construction costs are fully funded under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement in exchange for land, servicing and free rent space for the child-care operator.
“We know that in rural communities, families are struggling to access early learning and child care programming and services,” said Kevin Lamoureux, member of Parliament for Winnipeg North. “That is why Canada is working with our provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to fund innovative solutions, like Manitoba’s ready-to-move program, that will offer families access to high-quality, culturally appropriate, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care, no matter where they live.”
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When complete, both phases of the project are anticipated to create 1,970 new child-care spaces in 25 rural and First Nations communities across the province.
“We have heard loud and clear from parents that we need more child-care spaces – and that’s why we are working to create thousands of new spaces,” said Stefanson. “Affordable, accessible child care helps families make ends meet and makes our communities stronger.”