Eastern Charlotte has approved a tender for its new childcare facility just months after it rejected the project due to a funding cap.
The local government awarded the contract to Avant Guard for $2.3 million. A previous council rejected the tender in March after the Regional Development Corporation capped the funding at $500,000.
An agreement was reached for a 40-40-20 funding split between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
In July, Chief Administrative Officer Jason Gaudet told the council the agreement changed from $500,000 to roughly $920,000, bringing the cost to the municipality much closer to the original agreement. The federal portion was $918,000, with provincial and federal funding totalling $1.83 million and representing 68 per cent of the total cost.
Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig said this project has been three years in the making.
“It is good news,” he said. “This is going to be a big project for the area.”
The building is a 6,200-square-foot multipurpose building planned for J.O. Spinney Drive.
Craig said this council has moved quickly, alongside the town’s economic development officer, Lori Kelly, to get the project in order before the deadlines set by the federal and provincial governments.
“[We’re] happy for the people of Eastern Charlotte and for the children to be able to have another place for them to go,” he said. “It has met every deadline. It meets everything right along.”
The YMCA will operate the licensed childcare facility.
Adrienne Boudreau, the chief operating officer for the YMCA of Southwestern New Brunswick, said Eastern Charlotte, and in particular St. George, had been identified as an area without licensed childcare.
“The YMCA began a partnership with St. George and the council back in 2018,” she said. “There was a need for summer day camps and that’s where we started. That’s when we were asked to come and do. But at the same time, we started talking about childcare.”
Boudreau said there are 82 spaces in total. Of those, 52 spaces are for children aged one to five. Another 30 spaces will be for the after-school program.
“This means that there is care for children,” she said. “Parents won’t have to stay home because they can’t find anything.”
Other licensed childcare facilities in nearby Pennifield and Blacks Harbour are full, she explained.
“This allows parents to have quality childcare for their children, and allows them to be able to go back to work,” she said. “It allows people to move to the community and know that there will be childcare spaces for them.”
Boudreau said the YMCA will continue its recreation-based programming in Blacks Harbour.
She said the project has taken some time to get to this point.
“It’s difficult in the St. George area, and even surrounding [area], to find a building that was big enough to be able to be retrofitted to be able to suit a child care,” she said. “And so, working with the municipality, we were able to do that together. I think it’s only made this project stronger because it’s going to create a community asset that will be there for years to come with the YMCA operating licensed childcare.”
Boudreau explained the childcare rates will be reduced.
“For the programs in New Brunswick, currently it’s $19 a day for one-year-olds, and then it would be, for preschool children, it would be $16 a day, which is still a very reduced fee,” she said.
For those who will face an additional financial burden, Boudreau explained the YMCA fundraises in order to ensure everyone is able to access their program.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) said it is working with the Government of New Brunswick (GNB), its Indigenous partners, to build an affordable, inclusive and high-quality Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system for families in Canada.
“Since 2021, the Government of Canada (GOC) has announced more than $58 billion in federal funding through agreements with provinces and territories until March 2031,” a statement from the federal department said. “More recently, the Government of Canada announced it will be providing an additional investment of up to $5.4 billion over two years, starting in 2026-2027, to support provinces and territories in keeping child care fees stable and affordable for families.”
Meanwhile, the Regional Development Corporation said in a statement it is in the process of finalizing the evaluation of the project and is pleased to see the municipality taking steps to move the childcare facility project forward.
Craig said he expects the timeline to move quickly from here, with construction aiming to be complete by mid-2027.
