Nunavut signs $10-a-day child-care deal with federal government
Nunavut has become the latest jurisdiction to sign onto the federal government's $10-a-day child-care program.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the deal of $66-million over five years Monday with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok joining virtually from a daycare in Iqaluit.
"This funding will bolster Nunavut's sector and provide a significant investment in our children and our families," Akeeagok said.
Trudeau said the deal means Nunavut's daycare fees will be cut in half by the end of this year and will be $10 a day by March 2024. He said the estimated savings for families in Iqaluit will be about $14,000 a year.
The deal is part of the Liberal government's promise to spend $30 billion over five years to realize a national child-care program and cut fees to $10 a day over five years.
Child care has been a long-standing issue in Nunavut. There are years-long wait lists and staff shortages across the territory.
Nunavut Education Minister Pamela Gross said up to 25 per cent of the federal money will go toward increasing wages for early child-care workers.
The new deal also applies to daycare facilities licensed by the Nunavut government, but many of the territory's existing daycares are private and home-based.
Gross said the Nunavut government will work with "anyone who wants to establish a day home."
Karina Gould, the federal minister for families, children and social development, said Ottawa will work to add more care spaces for children in Nunavut.
"One of the next steps and further areas of work between the Government of Canada and Government of Nunavut is to identify where those growth opportunities are," Gould said.
Akeeagok said many communities in Nunavut, like his home community of Grise Fiord, don't have child-care facilities.
"Unfortunately, many of our communities are still lacking in child-care infrastructure," Akeeagok said.
He wants to see a daycare in all of Nunavut's 25 communities, he said.
With Nunavut on board, Ontario is the only jurisdiction not to sign on to the program.
Trudeau said Ottawa has been ready to sign a deal with Ontario for "many, many months now" and is still optimistic an agreement can be reached.
"We're all just waiting on the government of Ontario."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2022.
------
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship
IN DEPTH
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6922467.1718138898!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6850735.1713368648!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6778341.1708561001!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'I got no remorse': Greg Fertuck, convicted of murdering missing spouse, sentenced to life in prison
Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
'Ford's dry summer begins': All LCBO stores closed as workers go on strike
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
How does Canada's lowest hourly minimum wage stack up to the rest of the country?
Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.
Crocodiles cannot outnumber people in Australian territory where girl was killed, leader says
Crocodile numbers in Australia's Northern Territory must be either maintained or reduced and cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population, the territory's leader said after a 12-year-old girl was killed while swimming.
Possible shark sighting temporarily closes popular Maritime beach
A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.
Canadian couple 'very frustrated' after WestJet strike, Hurricane Beryl cancels flight home
After 10-plus years as a loyal WestJet traveller, Jennifer Hewitt says she is swearing off the Canadian airline after a series of unforeseen flight cancellations left her and her husband still stranded in Jamaica.
Canada's global reputation suffering under Trudeau, Garneau asserts in autobiography
Former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau says Canada has lost its standing in the world under the tenure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he criticizes as an ill-prepared leader who prioritizes politics and makes big pronouncements without any follow-through.
Police seize loaded gun and $3.5M in drugs after arresting man in Mississauga
An investigation into an armed individual in a Mississauga neighbourhood has led to the seizure of drugs that carry an estimated street value of $3.5 million, police say.
A new U.K. government renews hopes for a free-trade deal with Canada
The major shift in the British political landscape after Thursday's election will likely have little impact on Canada's relationship with its ally across the pond, experts say, though it is reviving hope for a possible free-trade deal.
Local Spotlight
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6951955.1720131665!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
WWE superstar surprises Guelph, Ont. fan who didn’t have accessible seat
A wrestling fan from Guelph, Ont. thought he was down for the count after winning tickets to a “once-in-a-lifetime” WWE event in Toronto.
This pet chicken from B.C. is now a Guinness World Record holder
Lacey may look like just another pet chicken on Emily Carrington’s B.C. property. But she has a title her coop mates don’t: Guinness World Record holder.
Vancouver's 'Phil Wizard' first-ever breaker named to Canada's Olympic team
Philip Kim, who competes as "B-Boy Phil Wizard," is set to make Canadian sports history this summer as the country's first-ever Olympic breaking athlete.
New documentary explores the increased number of white shark observations
A new documentary filmed in Nova Scotia by marine biologist and veterinarian Dr. Chris Harvey Clark explores the increased number of white shark observations in Canadian waters.
'A steal for the international buyer': Whistler mansion listed for $17.9M
A never-before-lived-in mansion in Whistler is on the market for $17.9 million – with the listing describing it as a 'steal for the international buyer' due to the current exchange rate, which puts the price in U.S. dollars at $13.1 million.
'Traffic's too bad': Niall Horan walks to his own concert in Toronto
Irish singer Niall Horan had to ditch his car and walk to Scotiabank Arena where his concert was being held last weekend because the traffic was 'too bad' downtown.
Raves, weddings, and field trips: GTA residents share memories of shuttered Ontario Science Centre
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
An unknown Newfoundland soldier killed in the First World War is being laid to rest
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.