More money is going to childcare in Saskatchewan from both the provincial and federal governments in order to boost the recruiting and retaining of staff.
$8.4 million is coming from both governments in the form of early learning and child care workforce enhancement grants, with an additional $1 million adding up to a total of around $53 million to the Early Childhood Educator wage enhancement grant.
On average this change represents an extra $1 an hour increase to the ECE wage enhancement grant maximums for all certification levels.
All of those grants are funded through the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
"Our government is pleased to invest in early childhood programs," Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said. "With these grants, it will continue to enhance our support of non-profit child care centre boards and group family child care providers in their staffing efforts. The grants come at a time where the province can continue to expand regulated $10 per day child care spaces for Saskatchewan families to help make the province one of the most affordable places to live."
The ECE wage enhancement grant is available on September 1 and allows for a wage top-up for certified educators as high as $8.50 an hour.
Since the initial announcement of the program back in 2021 the grant has been increased four times, leading to an overall average increase in Early Childhood Educator wages to 20 per cent between December 2021 to December 2023.
"To make $10-a-day child care a reality for families in Saskatchewan, we need to retain and recruit more early childhood educators," Canada's Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Jenna Sudds said. "With these child care workforce enhancement grants, we are opening the door for new educators to discover this important career, as well as creating a stronger early child care educator workforce."
The workforce enhancement will also provide $145 per child care space for non-profit child care centre boards and group family child care providers who wish to pursue initiatives such as peer mentoring, pension plan contributions, or long-service recognition.
Since March 2021, the province says there has been a 15 per cent increase in certified Early Childhood Educators.