Sudbury daycare set to offer 24/7 service
A Greater Sudbury daycare centre offering 24/7 daycare service year-round is getting ready to open its doors.
Jeseanne Lacasse is the owner of The Daycare of Colours, a new daycare facility operating out of a former school on College Street.
It will be the only registered childcare centre in the city to offer 24-hour service. The facility will be colour-coded for each age category.
Lacasse is a mother of two and a registered Early Childhood Educator (ECE) and she said she has had a dream of opening a 24-hour centre for at least a decade.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Lacasse was 16-years-old when she had her first daughter, and she said she struggled to find a daycare centre with flexible hours. She said it was difficult when she was in school while working to make ends meet.
“I had a child and I had to take care of her and there was no daycare after six,” she said.
The centre will operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, even on holidays. Lacasse said her goal is to help others follow their dreams while not having to worry about finding daycare.
She said she has already had a number of people reach out asking when she’ll open.
“I have the community just waiting and messaging me asking when it’s going to be open,” Lacasse said.
“I just can’t wait to be able to help everybody.”
Sudbury MPP Jamie West said this service will be helpful for parents who work shift work, adding he knows personally how challenging it can be to find daycare if you don’t work conventional hours.
“I worked shift work in the smelter for 14 years and that 9-5 job isn’t as traditional as it used to be,” West said.
“There’s a lot of places that are a 24-hour workplace and you need 24-hour daycare.”
Lacasse said, providing the parents’ fill out a registration form and the facility is within capacity limits, all are welcome at all hours of the day. The centre has a capacity limit of 82 children.
“Even if it is 2 a.m., shift workers, 3 a.m. emergency, I will allow it. You’re welcome here,” she said.
Lacasse said she is hoping to have a team of 52 ECEs. She said she is still accepting applications. The ECEs will work a 12-hour shifts, five days on, five days off.
She said it was always challenging working and taking children to appointments.
“I used to have to book two days off a month to take my kids to their appointments and I’d either be taking vacation days or not getting paid,” Lacasse said.
“This is to offer my staff some flexibility.”
Lacasse said she has been able to cover the costs of renovations and staff out of her own pocket and with support from her family. She applied for funding from the City of Greater Sudbury, but it was not approved.
In a statement to CTV News, the city said a new provider must “obtain Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSM) approval to ensure these spaces fit into the local five-year Service System Plan (i.e. there will be funding) and meet municipal needs.”
Lacasse has set up a GoFundMe page in the meantime to help with additional costs.
She said she hopes to open the daycare centre on April 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Honda expected to announce Ontario EV battery plant, part of a $15B investment
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Honda executives are expected to announce today that the Japanese automaker is building an electric vehicle battery plant in Alliston, Ont., part of a $15-billion investment.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.