Montreal daycare workers stage early morning protest

Daycare workers gathered in Montreal Thursday morning to protests against planned government cuts to childcare services in the province.

The demonstration was organized by a coalition of daycare centres in the Montérégie region.

Demonstrators gathered at the corner of Viger and Papineau avenues to wave placards and get cars honking in support.

• Quebec daycare associations say looming cuts worse than expected
• Quebec government to cut $74M in daycare costs
• Quebec daycare fees to climb to $20 per day for highest-earning families

In late November, associations representing Quebec's public and subsidized private daycares walked away from talks with the Quebec government, saying the cuts they're facing are much worse than they expected. 

An initial estimate put the cuts at $120 million, but the associations emerged from the talks claiming that figure was closer to $320 million.

The Association Québécoise des Centres de la Petite Enfance (AQCPE) said at $320 million, the cuts represented close to 5,000 jobs, or between 20 and 25 per cent of the educators in public and private subsidized daycares.

One daycare operator attending Thursday's protest said he's already had to cut five jobs and will have to cut five to ten more in the coming year.

He said the cuts also affect field trips, special programs and even the kind of food they're able to serve the children in their care. 

The cuts occur at the same time as the government is raising the cost of daycare for parents with higher incomes. 

The current rate of $7.30 a day per child will remain in effect, but when families prepare their annual income tax declarations, those who make more money will have to pay an additional amount.

Families with a total income of less than $55,000 will continue to pay the base amount of $7.30.

The fee will climb as high as $20 per day per child for families with a total annual income of more than $150,000.