Proposed Alberta bill requires daycares to quickly inform parents about serious incidents - CBC

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says amended legislation strengthns oversight and equips the government with more authority when potentially criminal activity occurs at Alberta daycares. (CBC)Social SharingThe Alberta government is proposing amendments to the Early Learning and Childcare Act to improve parental notification when a serious incident happens at a daycare.

The change comes after Edmonton parents waited over two months to learn of an alleged sexual assault last year involving a child and former worker at their children’s daycare.

Similar changes were implemented as a policy earlier this year, but if passed, the new rules would be among the changes enshrined in legislation in Bill 35: Securing Parental Involvement, 2026. That bill also includes changes to report cards, PD days, and oversight on school naming.

In an interview with CBC News earlier this week, Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides laid out the proposed changes that were then tabled on Thursday.

The changes would expedite notification of criminal allegations so parents can decide whether to speak to their children about possible abuse.

“The priority will be to make sure that if a critical incident has been identified that we are providing that communication as quickly as possible,” Nicolaides said Tuesday.

For two months, parents whose children attended Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek in Edmonton weren't told that a former daycare worker had been accused of sexual assaulting a young girl in a shed.

The serious nature of the incident only came to light after the girl’s mother spoke up at a town hall parents had to push for. Afterward, another complainant came forward. By then, the accused had already fled the country. The province has not sought extradition.

“If these changes were in place during that incident, the main difference would have been that the licensed child-care provider would have had to provide information immediately that a critical incident had occurred,” Nicolaides said.

“And they would also have had to provide information to parents about what safety measures they are taking and communicate that to parents.” 

Amended legislation would also grant new powers to the province to communicate critical incidents directly with parents if the operator fails to do so.

Currently, the responsibility to notify families about incidents falls solely on daycare operators. 

Under the proposed new rules, a “critical incident” would include death, neglect or physical, emotional or sexual abuse, Nicolaides said.

“If there's a criminal matter, we can't go into detail about that,” he said. “But if a parent or someone sees a notice regarding a critical incident, that means that something quite serious has indeed occurred and that will allow them to take any appropriate steps that they may want to.”

The province assesses each situation to determine whether broader notification is needed while protecting privacy and minimizing impacts on active investigations, a news release Thursday said. Not every critical incident would be shared with all families, depending on advice from legal experts and law enforcement, the province said.

Thomas Kyle, a parent whose son attended Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek at the time of the alleged incident, said he's happy to see the changes being proposed.

"The legislation is a very positive and meaningful step in the right direction that should give parents more confidence in the evolving landscape of child care in Alberta," he said in an interview.

Kyle said he believes if legislation like this had already been in place when the alleged incident occurred at Willowbrae Academy Mill Creek, it would have saved parents some grief.

He highlighted the government's proposal to more specifically define what a critical incident is.

"I do think that ... will have an impact on outcomes of future daycare incidents in a positive way," Kyle said.

Amended legislation would also give the province more capacity to assess the background of people applying to operate child-care programs and strengthen oversight over early childhood educator staff. It would also legally require daycares to have a provincially approved safety plan.

The news release stated that if passed, the changes would take effect in March 2027.

Andrea Huncar reports on human rights and justice. Contact her in confidence at andrea.huncar@cbc.ca