42 MORE CHILD CARE SPACES OPEN IN NORTH BATTLEFORD

Today, Cut Knife-Turtleford MLA Michael Chisholm on behalf of Education Minister Donna Harpauer joined the Village Childcare Centre Board, representatives from the Prairie North Regional Health Authority, members of the Battlefords Tribal Council, as well as community members and families to celebrate the opening of the 42 space Village Centre Childcare in North Battleford.

"Since November 2007, the Government of Saskatchewan has expanded the number of licensed child care spaces in our province by over thirty-six per cent," Chisholm said. "The 42 spaces we are celebrating today are part of this significant increase, and mean that more families in North Battleford will be able to access high-quality child care."

"Village Centre Childcare fulfils the idea that ‘it takes a village to raise a child'," Village Centre Childcare Board Chair Terry Cann said. "Successful partnerships at many levels were needed to create this opportunity for our children. In the Battlefords, we really do understand and appreciate the contributions of families, our local community, and our provincial community; together we share both the responsibility and the joy of raising our children."

The Government of Saskatchewan provided more than $177,384 for the development of the new centre, including one-time funding of more than $141,200 to develop the spaces, as well as more than $36,000 to assist with purchasing furnishings, materials and equipment that enhance early learning.

This is the second new child care centre to open in North Battleford in the past two months. In February, le Centre éducatif Les Petits Pingouins, a 25 space licensed child care centre at École Père Mercure in North Battleford, opened.

Over the past three and a half years, the Government of Saskatchewan has made a record investment in licensed child care, allocating funding for 3,435 new child care spaces to communities across the province.

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For more information, contact:

Sarah Still
Education
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1613
Email: sarah.still@gov.sk.ca