“I will be forced to stop my job, the time to be able to put my son in school. »»
In Chicoutimi, Séverine the best, from Chambéry, in France, is preparing to leave her work as an appointment to the beneficiaries at the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Consil.
His youngest son, who will be 4 years old at the end of September, has to leave his daycare at $ 9.35 per day. She holds an open work permit linked to her husband’s initial study permit, now holding a postdiplôme work permit: a combination of statutes that does not meet the criteria required to benefit from the reduced contribution.
We did calculations with my husband, and it would be too expensive to put our son in the non -subsidized daycare so that we can work both. My husband earns more than me. He will remain to work and I will stay at home.
Séverine the best
Like other parents, Mme The best learned the news a few days ago.
Photo provided by Séverine the best
Séverine the best with her 3 year old son, Alyson
This is not a new directive, but a reminder of an existing rule, according to the Ministry of the Family. However, in the field, numerous childcare services, as well as coordinating offices, believed that parents holding open work permit were eligible, with some exceptions.
In many cases, admissions had been validated after verification to the ministry, according to childcare departments to whom The press spoke in the last days. This regulatory vagueness led to divergent interpretations. Today, several subsidized daycare centers are asking the government to allow children already admitted to end their journey.
Validated admissions… then invalidated
Séverine the best claims to have followed all the steps expected when he arrived in Quebec, in August 2023. “We signed up on Place 0-5 years as we were asked to do. Afterwards, I contacted family backgrounds and I had a place in a subsidized family environment, ”she says.
The family has changed daycare, but each time, she said, the coordinating office validated its file. “So, it is sure that even [la directrice]up to two days ago, was not aware that she could not take immigrants with open work permits. »»
She sums up what we had always made her understand: “At the beginning, it said that anyone with a permit or having the authorization to live in Quebec was authorized to have a place in subsidized daycare. We were eligible as long as we were there to work and we were allowed to work in Quebec. »»
Thursday was the last day when his son Alyson could attend daycare.
Montreal: same observation
In Montreal, Anastasia Hnenna and Ayoub Harbouche, who fled the war in Ukraine, experienced the same situation. Their eldest daughter, Tumiia Aisha, 4, is autistic. Personalized follow -up was to start in September, at home and daycare, with specialists.
“We had to start the lessons on the 1is September, but unfortunately, with this news, I think we are going to lose it all, ”explains Ayoub harbouche.
Their youngest child, Lokman Muhammad, 1 year old, was born in Quebec. He too will have to leave the family daycare in the moonlight, rue des Érables.
If we lose your place at the daycare, one of us will have to stay at home with the children. We also try to do francization lessons, etc. So we’re going to stop that too.
Ayoub Harbouche
The couple work at easy to read, a publishing house specializing in decodable books for learning to read. Anastasia is handler and her husband is a webmaster.
The director of the daycare, Khadija Elhaim, says that the ministerial instructions were not clear. “The government said: all the emails that have been sent to you, you haven’t read them well. But the ministry did not send the codes to specify who we must refuse and who can accept. It is not possible that everyone, in the CPEs, made mistakes. »»
His daycare will have to leave the two children harnessed by the end of the month. “We are not even given a month to try to find a solution,” she deplores.
A acquired rights clause?
Questioned by The press On the possibility of a acquired rights clause, which would allow children already registered to finish their journey, the Ministry of the Family refrained from deciding. He indicated by email that he “currently performs the relevant analyzes surrounding the situation and will not issue additional comments by what these analyzes are completed”.
The parents concerned, they feel unjustly penalized.
We want to stay in Quebec. We feel good here, children feel good too. We found our routine, we found our living environment.
Séverine the best
Anastasia Hnenna and Ayoub Harbouche also wish to settle in permanently. “For the moment, we do not know what we are going to do, drops Mr. Harbouche. We hope that the government will change your idea. »»
History so far
2006
The reduced contribution regulations come into force. In particular, it excludes holders of work permit open to access to subsidized daycare centers.
June 2025
By validating a file, a coordinating office of Estrie learns from the Ministry of the Family which he wrongly admitted, around forty children whose parents have an open work permit.
July 9
The ministry transmits an official reminder of the rules to all childcare services in Quebec.
Mid-July
Immigrant families receive opinions giving them two weeks to withdraw their child. A formal notice is sent to the family ministry by parents.
