daycare

Construction of a new daycare has finally begun

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI

GASPÉ – After nearly four years of significant effort, construction of the Voyage de mon enfance early childhood centre in Gaspé officially began on June 2. The new facility located near Carrefour Gaspé, will offer 100 daycare spaces. 

“The preparations were a lot more difficult than initially anticipated. All in all, we’re pretty proud of the results,” notes Executive Director Gilles Chapados. 

The daycare spaces were allocated by the Quebec government on August 21, 2021. “The longest part was finding the opportunity, the land that would allow for this project, which, let’s face it, is quite large. Having a site located downtown with public services made it more difficult to find the ideal site,” comments the director. 

The initiative is part of a pilot project that was first spearheaded by the Association of Early Childhood Centres and taken over by the Ministry of Families when project costs exploded. “It’s truly a completely prefabricated daycare. It’s a new thing in Quebec. Overall, for now, from a theoretical point of view, and we’ve seen it in practice, it’s much faster and more efficient, even if it comes with its share of challenges. However, there are several advantages to this type of construction,” maintains Mr. Chapados. 

There are still a few details to be worked out. “Building access, managing public services, electricity, and building this project is pretty well organized, but there are definitely technical details to be worked out,” says Mr. Chapados. 

Habitations Mont-Carleton has been awarded the contract to build the modular unit. If all goes well, the building will be completed around November or December with the new centre opening no later than February 2026. 

“If people call us, we’ll automatically redirect them to the Place 0-5 year old (an organization taking reservations). That’s where we’ll draw children (waiting list) when we need to fill spaces,” says the director. 

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Lack of daycare spots remain a problem 

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

CARLETON-SUR-MER – The availability of daycare spaces in the Gaspé Peninsula remains a major issue, with two key challenges persisting. 

The Gaspé Peninsula Prefects Table recently had its annual meeting with the Ministerial Committee. Recommendations from the meeting will be given to the Minister of Families. 

“Two major concerns emerged. The first is that there have been several announcements in recent years. The challenge is getting these projects off the ground and getting construction underway, and the other is the lack of spots in the Avignon MRC, which has not received any new spots in the latest calls for projects,” notes the chair of the table, Mathieu Lapointe. 

According to the Quebec government, the region is expected to reach near balance in daycare spots by 2027.  “They always base their decisions on the demographic projections of the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ), and that’s where I have a major problem. We’ve always proven the statistics wrong. We’re always performing better than the ISQ forecasts. The ISQ predicts a population decrease, when in reality, it’s an increase,” says the president. 

The committee serves, in particular, to provide qualitative information on economic and residential development projects, information that the ministry doesn’t have.  “They look at the needs in the 0-5 space, and we, with the committee, are there to inform them about issues in the territory,” says Mr. Lapointe. 

Determining the exact number of daycare spaces currently needed in the Gaspé remains difficult.  Similar committees exist in every region of Quebec. “What will happen to the recommendations we made? We’ll find out in the coming months,” he says. The other major challenge is the lack of educators to fill available positions. 

“The workforce challenge is significant. We see that at the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, there have been no recent enrollments. It’s a big challenge,” Mr. Lapointe agrees. 

The ministry reports a 96% daycare coverage rate across Quebec.  “We would like to have this figure for the region, but we think we’re a little below the Quebec average,” the president concludes. 

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 Han Logements Confirms establishment in Chandler and launches fundraising campaign

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI

CHANDLER: – A grassroots fundraising campaign for the 32-unit affordable housing project for people with disabilities was launched on March 18 in Chandler. 

The developer, Han Logements, must raise $400,000 from the community to complete the financial package for the project,which is estimated at approximately $10 million and will be located on Rue des Micmacs.  “We have an innovative model that involves a multitude of partners, including small and large donors from the community,” said Han Logements President and CEO Anik Roy Trudel. 

The project will consist of four eight-unit buildings, for each complex the community will need to raise $100,000.  Desjardins has already announced a contribution of $64,000, and a private contributor from Percé has contributed an undisclosed amount.  The total is already approaching $100,000, nearly a quarter of the fundraising goal.  The Town of Chandler donated the land, valued at approximately $100,000. 

“Once we have the community’s contribution, it’s the basis that allows us to go knocking on the doors of foundations and major donors, and  we tell them that the project is already supported by the Chandler community and the surrounding area; they want “We want to start with a first phase of 32 housing units, and there’s the possibility of increasing to 56 units in a secthe project, and that puts their shoulder to the wheel,” notes Ms. Roy Trudel. 

“We want to start with a first phase of 32 housing units, and there’s the possibility of increasing to 56 units in a second phase,” adds Ms. Roy Trudel.  The goal is to begin construction this year once the financial package is complete. Initial studies had detected contamination on the chosen site, but further studies resolved the problem. 

“It took time, but we had the Town’s support. We conducted additional studies and, with the ministry, were able to determine that it was natural contamination. We can move forward,” explains Ms. Roy Trudel, who points out that this constraint has added minor delays. 

The units will accommodate people with physical or intellectual disabilities, those living with autism spectrum disorders, as well as seniors with certain physical limitations.  “We’re targeting people living with disabilities,” she says. The units are designed to make life easier for tenants, such as the absence of a door step for people with reduced mobility. 

For the mayor of Chandler, this project represents the culmination of a long process.  “We’ve been waiting for this day. Work should begin in April or May, with delivery within a year. We’re very happy,” says Mayor Gilles Daraîche. “We donated $100,000 worth of land, and that was our starting point for the project. We were very happy to contribute to it so our residents could benefit from it,” added the mayor. 

Phase 2 of the project will be built on the same lot. 

Boosting construction in Chandler 

This initiative is driving increased construction activity in the town of Chandler. “We see that people are starting to come. It’s just one start, and it’ll get the others going,” believes the elected official, who estimates that some 80 housing units will be built in his municipality by 2025. 

Another priority is expanding daycare spaces. 

A 71-spot daycare centre was built and opened last year, and a project for a 12-spot community daycare is currently being developed in the former printing plant. 

However, demand remains high. “We can never have enough (daycare spots). We hope that more people will settle in Chandler. We always need more daycare spaces, we always need more housing. We hope to have another mandate to do it,” notes the mayor who will be running for mayor next November. 

Other projects are progressing 

Construction of 32 housing units in Gaspé is progressing. “We’re aiming for early August, August 1, to welcome the first tenants,” emphasizes Ms. Roy Trudel. Construction on the Forest Street extension began in June 2024. “There’s also potential for a phase 2 there. The mayor would like us to start quickly. There’s space on the same lot. It’s being evaluated,” she says. 

In Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, the municipality has donated land, and the project is now in the financing phase and in Haute-Gaspésie, plans are underway for a 48-unit, housing project valued at $15 million. 

New Richmond has been mentioned as the next development site. “I don’t want to comment, but it’s something we’re evaluating very seriously. We’re working with the municipality, but we’ll see about the timeline. There’s a lot of interest in the Gaspé Peninsula. Han Logements is continuing its momentum, and it’s important to meet the needs of the population,” says Ms. Roy Trudel. 

In Avignon, no projects are under development. “We’re always open. We go wherever there’s a community or a municipality that wants a project,” says the president and CEO. 

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Strike by CSN-affiliated daycare educators 

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – On January 23, at least 150 of the 300 daycare educators in the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, affiliated with the CSN union, demonstrated in the streets of Gaspé, to activate the renewal of the collective labour agreement, which expired on March 31, 2023. 

As a result, parents who have children attending one of the 12 early childhood centres (CPE) in the region had to find alternative childcare for the day. 

This is the first day of strike action out of five adopted last fall. “It’s satisfying to see so many educators mobilized. This proves to us that almost all early childhood educators need better working conditions, better support for children in difficulty, and better pedagogical support. They need better working conditions in general,” states the president of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Central Council of the CSN, Serge Saint-Pierre. 

CPEs are struggling to recruit workers, as is the case for the new 71-place facility in Chandler, which is only operating at 25% of its capacity due to the inability to recruit enough staff. 

“We see that in large centres, educators are leaving to go work at places like Walmart or Costco, where they are paid more and the workload is much less,” explains Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

“If we want economic development, if we want regional development, one of the problems we see is the lack of places in early childhood. The government can resolve this issue and make it a priority. That’s what it said it would do a few years ago. We’re still waiting for the results,” says Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

The educators also visited the office of Gaspé Member of the National Assembly Stéphane Sainte-Croix to present their demands. 

“We need early childhood centres. The network isn’t sick, but we’re having trouble retaining workers and attracting them to fill vacant positions. It’s having an impact on the region’s economy to accommodate the children of parents looking for work. Workers aren’t returning to the workforce because there aren’t any daycare spaces,” explained Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

At the negotiating table, some sector-specific issues have been resolved, but no salary offers have been made by the employer. 

Meanwhile, other CPE workers’ unions have settled with the Quebec government. “It’s a matter for the negotiating committee. Why did Quebec settle with the small CPE unions and not make a final offer with the CSN? We have the impression that they want to drag out the negotiations,” believes Gaétan Leblanc, regional vice-president of the CSN’s Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux. 

The union still has four more strike days that can be used as needed. 

The workers are demanding a lighter workload, better pay to ensure attraction and retention, regional disparity bonuses for employees in certain remote regions and measures to improve the quality of services to children. These include clear and respected ratios between the number of educators and children, as well as better support for children with special needs. 

In Quebec, 13,000 educators affiliated with the CSN were on strike on January 23. 

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