The National Day of Mourning will be a national headache for parents and guardians scrambling to find child care with less than a week’s notice.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Monday, Sept. 19 would be a federal holiday to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Sept. 8.
In B.C., public sector employees will have the day off. Premier John Horgan also announced that K-12 public schools, post-secondary institutions and Crown corporations will be closed for the day.
But many working in the private sector will still have to work, and the unexpected holiday has put pressure on parents already facing a strained child-care system, said Lisa Connell, chair of Tillicum Elementary’s Parent Advisory Council.
“The families in our school community are already challenged when it comes to child care,” Connell said.
“The expectation that they’re going to be able to find child care with less than a week to go is just completely unrealistic.” Connell said she’s heard from many parents that their only option is to take the day off work.
“We have a very diverse population of families at Tillicum and I know this is going to be a huge struggle — a financial impact — for those families who don’t have a choice,” she said.
In addition to the holiday, parents of children in the Greater Victoria School District were already preparing for a Professional Development Day on Sept. 23, when no classes are held.
“We already struggle with child care, so this just feels like another hit,” Connell said.
Tracy Humphreys, president of the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, said child care is a real struggle for parents of kids with complex care needs. “I just hope employers will be understanding that it might be hard for families to get care on such short notice,” she said. “I don’t think the province has much choice, but it is worrying to not have something in place for families who are going to struggle.”
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