N.W.T. government not actually sure they haven’t overpaid childcare providers

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-11-02 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Education, Social Services, Affordability, Finance, Governance]

An audit released in October revealed that the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment distributed millions in early learning and child care funding without verifying staff hours, parent fee invoices, or attendance numbers. Operating with an annual budget of roughly $34 million—with approximately 80 per cent (over $27 million) allocated to early childcare funding—the department relied entirely on facility attestations and assumed 100 per cent enrollment for daycares opened after April 1, 2023. Consequently, the government cannot confirm if it overpaid providers or successfully met its commitment to an average daily $10 parent fee. Beginning November 1, the department is requiring licensed childcare facilities to submit receipts, attendance records, closure days, and verifiable documentation for staff wages and expenditures covering the past two years.

N.W.T. government unsure if it overpaid child-care providers

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-11-02 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Education, Social Services, Affordability, Governance]

An audit released in October by the Office of the Auditor General revealed that the Government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Education disbursed millions in child-care funding over two years without verifying attendance records, staff hours, or parent fee invoices. Operating on an approximate $34 million annual departmental budget where roughly 80 percent goes to early learning and child care, the department relied entirely on facility attestations and assumptions of 100 percent attendance for daycares opened after April 1, 2023. Consequently, the territorial government remains unsure if it overpaid providers or successfully achieved its $10-a-day parent fee reduction target. In response, the Department of Education instituted a new requirement effective November 1, mandating that licensed child-care facilities submit two years of historical receipts, attendance figures, closure days, and verifiable documentation for wages and operating expenditures.

Unreliable safety inspections at N.W.T. daycares put kids at risk, auditors find

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-21 23:14:15.0
Tags: [National, Education, Social Services, Governance]

A report by the Auditor General of Canada revealed that the Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment failed to fulfill key early learning and child care responsibilities, putting children at risk through unreliable safety inspections and a lack of follow-up on high-risk deficiencies such as missing smoke detectors. Auditors reviewed 44 inspection files and found that approximately 20 percent used outdated criteria, inspectors lacked formal standardized training, and the department disbursed funds to child care facilities without verifying enrollment reports or staff timesheets. Furthermore, the department fell short on monitoring inclusive child care spaces and failed to properly track recruitment and retention following the 2021 federal-territorial child care agreement.