Councillors in Eastern Charlotte have voted to reject a tender for a childcare facility following a cap on funding from the provincial government.
The facility has long been a priority for the council. It was planned as a 6,200-square-foot single storey wood framed building located on J.O. Spinney Road, adjacent to Magaguadavic Place.
Chief Administrative Officer Jason Gaudet told council the original agreement called for 40 per cent from the provincial government, another 40 per cent from the federal government, and 20 per cent from the municipality.
“Following the receipt of the tender results, and prior to awarding the contract to Avant Garde, the [Regional Development Corporation] with the province advised their contribution would be capped at $500,000,” he said.
The total cost of the project was $2,698,730, which meant the provincial portion had been reduced to 18.5 per cent. Council was told its portion would be about $1.36 million, or about 50 per cent.
Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig said the reduction from the province does put the project out of reach for the municipality.
“At this point, the council does not want to go that far into debt,” Craig said in an interview with The Courier.
Child care is not the mandate of the local governments in New Brunswick, but like it and other things, municipalities have tried to step up on homelessness, housing and health care.
Craig acknowledged the province’s desire to cut down on spending—noting the deficit of $1.33 billion looming over the government. He said the council has set a focus on the water quality in Blacks Harbour.
“It’s not that we don’t think that childcare is important, but we don’t want to handcuff future projects,” he said, noting the recent funding announced for the collaborative care clinic at the Fundy Health Centre.
Craig also said this doesn’t mean the project is dead; it means [the municipality] have taken a step back to reassess how it moves forward.
“We’ve got the land, we have everything started as far as the drawings … it’s not that we’ve given up,” he said.
During the meeting, Coun. Alexa Detorakis asked council to table the motion to reject the tender until after an update was provided by the local government’s economic development officer.
The motion did not receive a seconder — another council member supporting the motion to bring it forward for a vote — and was defeated.
Detorakis said there has been a lot of work involved in the project beyond what has been discussed at council.
Coun. Terry Lee said he thinks the municipality could consider a smaller facility.
“We have options. I’m not against child care, I want to see a childcare building,” he said during the regular meeting on March 10. “If something changes, we can revisit it.”
Lee said a small building could be considered, but added he was unwilling to put the burden of $1.3 million on taxpayers.
At the federal level, Employment and Social Development Canada said in a statement to The Courier it has extended the funding agreement with New Brunswick until 2031.
“Any requirements a province or territory may put in place regarding the provision of Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) funding to operators [are] at their discretion, provided these requirements meet the terms and conditions outlined in the Canada-wide ELCC agreements,” the statement said.
New Brunswick’s Regional Development Corporation (RDC) confirmed the 40-40-20 allocation remains in place, but is capped at $500,000.
“Having said that, RDC would entertain maintaining a 40 per cent contribution above the $500,000 toward the total eligible cost of the project, provided there is a sustainable business plan for the childcare and the community identifies how they will raise the balance of the funds,” the department said in a statement to The Courier.
