Iqaluit, Nunavut – October 7, 2020 – With support from the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), Kakivak Association has increased financial support provided to 24 childcare centres in the Qikiqtani Region, retroactive to April 1, 2020.

For the past 20 years Kakivak Association has had an agreement with Employment and Social Development Canada to deliver the First Nation Inuit Child Care Initiatives program and has provided childcare centres with just over $1.5 million annually. Now, the total funding has increased to almost $2.3 million annually.

“Supporting daycares and early childhood learning has been central to QIA’s work in the past few years,” says QIA President, P.J. Akeeagok, “this boost in funding will give Qikiqtani daycares additional support to do their job of preparing our children for the future.”

“Kakivak Association is proud of the investments we are making enhance support for Early Learning and Childcare in our communities. We know that these investments provide positive short and long-term outcomes for families,” says Joe Attagutaluk, Chair, Kakivak Association Board of Directors.

The new funding will help to support basic operations for childcare centres and provide additional money for Inuit staff.

The additional funding is made available through the implementation of the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework (IELCC), announced in Budget 2018. The Government of Canada agreed to invest $111 million over 11 years in distinctions-based funding for Inuit to support and create more high-quality, affordable child care.

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