No day camp this summer in Havre-Saint-Pierre

One of the municipal councilors of Havre-Saint-Pierre, Sylvain Cormier, explains that the village has not received enough applications to offer a day camp during the summer season.

This year and last year, there was a shortage of manpower. We are not the only entity in the village that lacks employeeshe said.

Jonathan Boudreau, who is a resident of Havre-Saint-Pierre and 32 years old, affirms that he and his spouse do not yet have a plan to have their boy looked after this summer.

We thought there would have been a day camp this summer, so we got caught off guard. Of course, in Havre-Saint-Pierre, there are family and friends, but these are the only options we have left to keep our boy.he explains.

” Me and my spouse, for the moment, we are stressed a lot, we are in nothingness. »

Mr. Boudreau considers that a day camp is an essential service in a village. The return of day camps would be really appreciated. […] Parents rely on ithe notes.

Véronique Gleeton Déraps, another resident of Havre-Saint-Pierre, is also worried about the care of her 6-year-old daughter during the school holidays, she who is a single mother.

Not knowing what I’m going to do with my daughter this summer brings me anxiety. I hope I can find a young teenager to take care of my daughterexplains Ms. Gleeton Déraps.

A drop in the fertility rate in Havre-Saint-Pierre?

Sociodemographer and professor at the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) in Montreal Laurence Charton sees a correlation between a reduction in childcare services and the fertility rate in a region.

” The lack of childcare services generates anxiety, especially for future mothers who most often risk having to interrupt their professional activity to take care of their child. »

According to Ms. Charton, several international studies that she has consulted show that when childcare services are reduced, the level of fertility is lower.

The international example is often Germany, where there are very few childcare services that allow work-family balance. We see a very low fertility rate in Germany. On the other hand, in countries like Sweden or France, where childcare services are relatively well developed, we see that the level of fertility is higherobserves the researcher.

There are people who come to our village who leave because [du manque de service de garde]. We saw itnotes for her part Mrs. Gleeton Déraps.

” If I had a family and wanted to come to Havre-Saint-Pierre, I probably wouldn’t come. »

After discussing it with other parents, this mother suggests extending the childcare services offered in schools in the regions. She is convinced that it would be fruitful for the retention of families in rural areas.

School childcare services in the summer in the regions, I am convinced that there are people in there who would like to work all year round or people who would just like to work in the summer. It could also be an internship environment for a range of professionssays Ms. Gleeton Déraps.

At the time of writing these lines, Radio-Canada had not received an answer from the Quebec Family Ministry regarding the closure of the day camp in this north-coastal village.

Last March, day camp managers and stakeholders from associations, municipalities and communities came together to support a statement to ensure access to accessible and safe services.

Several young families from Havre-Saint-Pierre hope that the day camp will be able to open its doors again in 2023.