A Calgary-based daycare whose licence was revoked last summer over safety concerns has been allowed to reopen. Read More
Daycare owner says he feels vindicated
Advertisement 1
Daycare owner says he feels vindicated
Article content
A Calgary-based daycare whose licence was revoked last summer over safety concerns has been allowed to reopen.
Article content
But parents who were left in a lurch by the daycare’s sudden closure last August — some of whom paid hundreds of dollars in deposits — say they never received a refund.
Article content
Article content
On Aug. 12, 2024, the provincial government revoked the operating licence for Little Scholars Daycare Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc., ordering the businesses in north Calgary to immediately close.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
A news bulletin from the province issued that day stated the closures were due to “an imminent danger to the health, safety and well-being of children attending the programs.”
Article content
Noon News Roundup
Article content
Before being shuttered, Little Scholars had been operating under a probationary licence, which was set to expire at the end of August 2024.
Article content
Its closure affected nearly 300 children and their families, as well as roughly 70 employees.
Article content
But on June 12 this year, a Citizens Appeal Panel rescinded the province’s decision on two of the locations, allowing Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc. to reopen. The business had submitted its appeal last September and a hearing was held this March, determining Little Scholars was “in compliance” with provincial legislation when its licence was cancelled.
Article content
“The outcome establishes a critical legal precedent regarding due process and regulatory conduct in the province’s child-care sector,” stated a Monday news release from Little Scholars.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“The Appeal Panel found that there was no imminent danger to the health, safety, or well-being of a child, and therefore no legal basis for the licence revocation or closure of these two facilities that displaced 167 children from care.”
Article content
In the same release, Raj Saini, the daycare’s executive director, said he feels vindicated by the panel’s verdict, adding the appeal “exposed the errors of the licensing officers” who ordered his business to close.
Article content
“We have always had a great deal of confidence in the care that our employees provide to children and families in our community, and there was simply no evidence presented otherwise,” he said.
Article content
“We feel our businesses were unjustly targeted, our staff unjustly suffered job loss, and many children and their families had their lives disrupted for no valid reason.”
Article content
The release added Little Scholars’ daycares will reopen in the coming months, with details posted on its website.
Advertisement 1
Advertisement 2
Advertisement
Article content
Susan Cake, chair of Child Care Now Alberta and an associate professor of child and youth care at Athabasca University, said there are still a lot of questions about the appeal panel’s decision, as well as the province’s reasoning to shutter the daycares in the first place.
Article content
“We don’t have any information, and that seems surprising just because the government changes they’ve made . . . put a big emphasis on increasing transparency for parents,” she said. “This doesn’t appear to showcase that.”
Article content
The government’s Child Care Lookup tool indicated a July 17, 2024, inspection of Little Scholars’ 1312 Berkley Dr. N.W. location rendered multiple non-compliances, including minimum staffing and general supervision requirements, staff-to-child ratio requirements and program plan requirements.
Article content
The same tool indicated that five non-compliances were found at the 625 42 Ave. N.E. location related to manners of feeding, unsafe furnishings and administrative record-keeping contraventions.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“We can’t see the information (the panel) used to make a decision,” Cake said. “We don’t know if the business presented a case of how they’ve improved things or if it was a case that the initial inspections or closure were not done properly, or if there was an administrative error.
Article content
“We don’t know what happened.”
Article content
‘At this point, I’d like my money back’
Article content
Article content
Janine Roy was among the Calgary parents left scrambling after Little Scholars’ licence was revoked.
Article content
After touring the daycare’s 42nd Avenue N.E. location, she and her husband, Dustin, had paid an $850 deposit to secure their daughter a spot in early 2026. According to Roy, who was still pregnant at the time, they signed an agreement that stipulated they would receive a $500 refund if they lost their spot.
Article content
Nearly a year later, Roy said they never were reimbursed and have considered taking Little Scholars to small claims court.
Article content
Story continues below
Article content
“Based on the lack of communication we’ve gotten from them and the lack of transparency, I’d be concerned with them reopening,” she said.
Article content
“At this point, I’d like my money back.”
Article content
While Roy’s daughter has since been put on another daycare’s wait list to attend next March, she said she still has concerns with Little Scholars.
Article content
“You meet these people and think you’ve picked a spot that’s going to look after your kid when you’re at work, and to find out they didn’t have enough staff to look after the kids — it’s a pretty big violation,” she said.
Article content
Little Scholars’ news release did not reference refunds for parents whose children were previously enrolled with the daycare.
Article content
A spokesperson from the Alberta government’s Ministry of Education and Childcare said the ministry is reviewing the appeal panel’s decision and working with the child care provider to reinstate Little Scholars’ licences.
Article content
“Once reinstated, the licences will not have any special conditions placed on them,” a statement from the ministry said, adding that like all other licensed child care programs, Little Scholars will “need to comply with provincial legislation and regulations if they choose to reopen.”
Article content
Once a licence is reinstated, the licence holder is not required to publicly post their previous cancellations but the record of the closure will remain online at alberta.ca/about-child-care-in-alberta#jumplinks-5
Article content
Article content