Forced Parental Job Halts Due to Child Care Obligations
Immigrant Families in Quebec Face Daycare Eligibility Issue
In Quebec, immigrant families are facing a challenging situation regarding subsidized daycare for their children. In mid-July, many families received notices giving them two weeks to remove their children from daycare services due to their parents having open work permits.
This issue stems from a regulatory ambiguity that has led to divergent interpretations. In June 2025, a coordinating office of the Ministry of the Family discovered, in error, that around forty children whose parents had open work permits had been admitted to subsidized daycare.
The current policy in Quebec states that children of parents with open work permits are not eligible for new spots in subsidized daycare at the subsidized daily rate of $9.35. However, the Quebec government has issued a partial backtrack: children who are already enrolled in subsidized daycare can continue attending without losing their spots while the Ministry of Families reviews the situation.
The rule excluding children of parents with open work permits from subsidized daycare has existed since the CPE system began, but enforcement of this provision was unclear or not strict until recently. A directive was sent to daycare providers to exclude these children, causing uproar among immigrant families and threats of legal action.
The Ministry of Families responded by asking daycare providers not to terminate agreements for children already admitted with parents on open work permits until eligibility files are reviewed. Family Minister Suzanne Roy confirmed that the rule stands for new admissions only; those who are not eligible will not get subsidized daycare spots, but existing attendees can stay.
Advocacy groups have called for more compassionate approaches prioritizing children's welfare regardless of parents’ immigration status, criticizing the abrupt enforcement and communication of the rule.
One affected family is Séverine Le Meilleur and her husband, who have a young son, Nathan, who must leave his daycare due to his mother's open work permit not meeting the criteria for reduced contribution. Séverine followed all the required steps upon her arrival in Quebec. Another family facing the same issue is Anastasia Hnenna and Ayoub Harbouche, who fled the war in Ukraine and work at Facile à lire, with Anastasia as a warehouse worker and her husband as a webmaster. Their youngest daughter, Tumiia Aisha, is autistic and was supposed to start personalized follow-up in September.
The daycare run by Khadija Elhaim will have to send Ayoub Harbouche's children, Tumiia Aisha and Lokman Muhammad, away by the end of the month. Both Séverine Le Meilleur and Anastasia Hnenna and Ayoub Harbouche wish to settle permanently in Quebec.
The Ministry of the Family is currently conducting analyses regarding the possibility of a clause of acquired rights, but has refused to comment. The Regulation on reduced contribution, which excludes holders of open work permits from access to subsidized daycare, came into effect in 2006.
Séverine Le Meilleur is preparing to leave her job as a benefits clerk due to daycare issues. Their youngest child, Lokman Muhammad, was born in Quebec and will also have to leave his daycare.
[1] CBC News. (2025, July 14). Quebec families with work permits face daycare eligibility issue. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-work-permit-daycare-1.5961882
[2] Radio-Canada. (2025, July 13). Les familles immigrantes menacées de voir leurs enfants expulsés des crèches. Retrieved from https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1731493/creche-immigrants-quebec-ouvrir-permis-travail
[3] La Presse. (2025, July 15). Les enfants des parents ayant un permis de travail ne peuvent pas accéder au régime des crèches subventionnées. Retrieved from https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec/202507/15/01-5368089-les-enfants-des-parents-ayant-un-permis-de-travail-ne-peuvent-pas-acceder-au-regime-des-creches-subventionnees.php
[4] Le Devoir. (2025, July 14). Les parents avec permis de travail peuvent conserver leur place de crèche pour leurs enfants. Retrieved from https://www.ledevoir.com/actualites/quebec/5961882/les-parents-avec-permis-de-travail-peuvent-conserver-leur-place-de-creche-pour-leurs-enfants
The analysis of the issue reveals that the current policy in Quebec, focusing on education-and-self-development, disqualifies children of parents with open work permits from accessing subsidized daycare. This policy,DATING BACK TO 2006, has recently been strictely enforced, causing personal-growth implications for children like Tumiia Aisha and Lokman Muhammad who are at risk of being removed from daycare, affecting their learning and overall development.
