A recent report on childcare in Antigonish shows there is a need for more childcare spaces in the area.
Arts Health Antigonish hired childcare consultant and early years educator Keenan Fiddler to conduct the report, titled Childcare: Foundational to a Healthy Community, after receiving funding from the office of Healthcare Professionals Recruitment Community Fund.
Fiddler said the report began as a means of looking at healthcare recruitment, with Fiddler noting a main barrier is local childcare. AHA wanted to look deeper into the issue, and Fiddler says that`s where she came in. Keenan said the report unveiled what she called a huge childcare crisis, noting the current capacity for spaces at regulated childcare centres is 214 while there is a need for 532 spaces, meaning there is a 318-space shortage. She said they also looked at after-school care for school-aged children.
Fiddler said the research proposed solutions, such as increasing childcare spaces, collaborating with the community, and looking at community centres and not-for profits. Fiddler noted she collected data for the report in the summer of 2024.