Islanders unhappy about changes preventing hiring of more child-care staff, MLA says [Video]

Prince Edward Islanders are still questioning immigration changes the provincial and federal governments have made that are affecting families’ access to child-care spaces, according to the education critic for the provincial Liberals.

Last year, the federal government announced it would reduce the cap on the number of people P.E.I. can nominate for permanent residency this year by half compared to 2023, taking the number down to 1,025.

Then the province changed the criteria for its Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) to limit any new applications to people working in health care, construction and manufacturing. The program had previously accepted applications for the child-care sector.

Before the changes, workers in the child-care sector were able to apply for a spot in the provincial program. Now, with more than 2,000 families waiting for access to child-care, they cannot. 

In the legislature Tuesday, Liberal education critic Gord McNeilly read portions of letters he’s received …