To the Honourable Minister of Education,

  In 2021, Saskatchewan joined the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with a shared vision: to build an early learning and child care system that is affordable, accessible, inclusive, high quality, and sustainable. Licensed child care providers embraced that vision. We accepted significant change. We expanded programs, adjusted our operations, supported families through a historic transition to reduced parent fees, and continued to provide safe, nurturing, high-quality care despite rising operating costs, workforce shortages, inflation, and increasing regulatory responsibilities. We did our part because we believed we were building something better for Saskatchewan families. Today, however, many providers feel that vision is slipping away.

  The July 1st changes to operational funding have and will create uncertainty. These changes will  increase financial instability and transfer significant financial hardship onto many of the very facilities responsible for delivering an essential public service. These changes have also created yet more of a financial burden for Saskatchewan families who are now liable to pay extra fees. 

  These changes are no longer in the spirit of $10/day childcare. Something the Saskatchewan government has promised to maintain. These changes mean the potential for hundreds of dollars a month above what families already pay. 

  These changes go directly against the SK-CWELCC agreement that the provincial government signed in 2021 and 2025. 

The specific areas of breach are as follows:

"2.1.1 Canada and Saskatchewan commit to the following objectives, with "regulated" as defined in section 2.2.1

 (a):  affordability: o Saskatchewan used federal funding to reduce out-of-pocket parent fees for regulated ELCC spaces for children under age 6 by an average of 50% from 2019 levels. 

o Saskatchewan commits to using federal funding to maintain out-of pocket parent fees for full-time regulated ELCC spaces for children under age 6 at an average of $10/day through fiscal year 2026 to 2027 to fiscal year 2030 to 2031.”

~

“Saskatchewan commits to using federal funding to increase the net number of regulated child care spaces for children under age 6 to achieve a coverage rate of 59% by fiscal year 2025 to 2026.”

~

“Developing a wage grid for Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) and committing to its implementation.”

-Excerpts pulled directly from the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement 2021-2026 and the Agreement to Amend the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement - 2021-2026 Including Annex 4 - Canada -Saskatchewan Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Funding Agreement For Fiscal Years 2023 to 2024 Through 2025 to 2026 found here: https://childcarecanada.org/sites/default/files/AGREEMENT%20TO%20AMEND%20THE%20CANADA-SASKATCHEWAN%202021%20-%202026.pdf & https://www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories/saskatchewan-canada-wide-2021.html 

  These changes threaten not only individual child care facilities—they threaten the long-term sustainability of Saskatchewan's entire early learning and child care system.

  Families cannot access affordable child care if licensed facilities cannot remain financially viable. Every licensed child care provider must continue to pay staff, maintain safe facilities, purchase food and educational materials, meet licensing requirements, provide programming, and respond to the changing needs of children and families every day.

  Recent funding changes means providers will absorb the financial costs of casual children that are above their licensed spaces with the only compensation being $1/Hour for care. We cannot do it. A funding model that fails to recognize the genuine cost of operating licensed child care places the stability of the entire system at risk.

   Without sustainable operational funding, providers may be forced to delay expansion, reduce enrolment, limit services, or, in some communities, close entirely. These impacts will be felt most acutely in rural, northern, and smaller communities where replacing lost child care capacity may be impossible. Families waiting for care cannot benefit from spaces that providers can no longer afford to operate. That model is not an accessible system for families.

   Providers cannot continue investing in staff, professional development, learning environments, and children's programming while simultaneously absorbing increasing financial losses. When financial pressures become unsustainable, quality inevitably suffers—not because providers care less, but because resources become increasingly limited. No one wants that outcome. Least of all the children we serve.

   Licensed providers are not simply recipients of government policy. We are the organizations entrusted with delivering one of Saskatchewan's most important public services. The recent funding changes have left many providers feeling that operational decisions are being made without adequate consultation with those who understand the realities of delivering licensed child care every day. This lack of respect for the expertise of providers creates an environment of frustration and resentment. Meaningful consultation is not an obstacle to progress. It is how good public policy is developed. Providers possess decades of collective experience managing budgets, staffing, regulatory compliance, inclusion, family needs, and community realities. That expertise should inform policy—not follow it. We want to help create the system we know Saskatchewan families need. 

We Are Asking

   We believe Saskatchewan can still build one of Canada's strongest early learning and child care systems but that will require genuine partnership.

We respectfully call on the Government of Saskatchewan to:

Stop the July 1st changes that have been implemented. Look at the impact these changes will have on facilities across the province. 
Develop a funding model that reflects the true costs and operational realities of licensed child care in Saskatchewan.
Give Educators the wage grid they were promised and deserve. 
Commit to meaningful, ongoing consultation before implementing future policy changes.
Ensure that future decisions strengthen—not weaken—the goals of affordability, accessibility, quality, inclusion, and long-term sustainability.
   Every day, Saskatchewan's licensed child care providers open their doors because we believe in what we do. We care for and educate children during some of the most vital years of their lives. We support parents so they can work, study, and contribute to their communities. We employ thousands of early childhood educators across this province. We strengthen the economy. We enable others to contribute to the economy. We create opportunities for families to thrive. We are proud of that work. It is essential work. But pride alone cannot sustain a child care system. Without financially sustainability, there can be no affordable child care for the families of Saskatchewan. Without stable providers, there can be no accessible child care. Without supported educators, there can be no high-quality child care.

   The future of Saskatchewan's early learning and child care system depends on the decisions being made today. We ask you to choose partnership over policy developed in isolation. We ask you to choose sustainability over short-term savings. Most importantly, we ask you to choose a child care system that is built not only for today, but for future generations of Saskatchewan children and families.

Respectfully,

The Undersigned Licensed Early Learning and Child Care Providers of Saskatchewan