11th hour deal keeps Sandy Hill Child Care Centre operating months after fire
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre has an extra two weeks to get its new home up to code months after a fire.
A fire damaged the childcare centre on Wilbrod Street just days after Christmas. No one was hurt. The daycare moved into St. Paul's Eastern United Church on Cumberland Street during repairs, but it was later learned that the building on Wilbrod Street would need to be demolished.
During a temporary relocation, the Ministry of Education waives certain licensing requirements, but when it became apparent that the Wilbrod Street location could no longer be used, the daycare applied for a licence at the temporary location on Cumberland Street. However, the St. Paul's location was not up to ministry standards for a daycare.
The Sandy Hill Child Care Centre then identified a new location on Myrand Avenue and informed the Ministry of Education in April. The Myrand Avenue site will also need some renovations to get it up to code, so the daycare applied for a six-week extension to its 10-week temporary relocation allowance, which the ministry granted.
That extension was due to expire on Monday, but Sandy Hill needed more time. In a post on its Facebook page last week, the Sandy Hill Child Care Centre said it was initially denied an extension.
"It is critical that we remain open to support the 31 families we currently have enrolled," the post said, urging families to write to the ministry in support.
The director of the Sandy Hill Child Care Centre declined an on-camera interview with CTV News Ottawa.
Coun. Stéphanie Plante said it has been a stressful time for families and the daycare.
"Everybody was really happy with the new location; however, this is not a good permanent location," said Plante. "There was some concern over the bathroom because, obviously, this building is older… and the bathroom isn’t up to code to the daycares that are opening up today, but what we wanted to emphasize to the ministry is that these are kids. A lot of them are in diapers."
St. Paul's Eastern United Church was built in the late 1880s. The congregation disbanded in 2021.
Ottawa-Vanier MPP Lucille Collard also became involved in helping the daycare stay open.
"The red tape was probably some misunderstanding. This is a unique circumstance. The only compliance is there may not be a sufficient amount of bathrooms to comply with the building code for the childcare for the number of kids that they have," Collard said. "It’s a bit unfortunate that it took two elected officials to intervene and for the Ministry of Education to be called upon."
On Monday afternoon, the ministry confirmed to CTV News that a two-week extension has been granted, giving the Sandy Hill Child Care Centre until June 12 to get the new site ready. It has until June 8 to apply for a licence to operate at the church if the new site cannot be prepared in time.
--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Natalie van Rooy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.
McDonald's customers left with 'zero value' collection of free hot drink stickers after company ends program
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Getting the lowest mortgage rates in a high interest rate world
The challenges facing home buyers mean it's all the more important to do research and negotiate on rates, mortgage experts say, though they also caution that there's more to focus on than just what looks like the cheapest upfront option.