The Laiterie de Coaticook was approved for a daycare project in 2018, but a slow acquisition process of the building next door and the pandemic kept construction crews at bay.
However, as Quebec continues to open up, the Laiterie is finally ready to move forward with its subsidized private daycare centre, La p’tite laiterie. The plan is to have 29 places for children belonging to employees, as well as Coaticook residents. They want to open in the fall.
“We want to start the renovations for the building in the spring and we’re hoping to be ready for the start of the school year in September,” said Project Administrator Roxanne Provencher, adding it all depends on the availability of the renovation teams at this point.
According to Provencher, the idea to open a daycare started off as a joke. But as time went on, she said that the company noticed employees were starting families. They realized there could be value in opening a daycare close by to help them balance work and family life.
There is a shortage of daycare availability in the Eastern Townships, and throughout most of Quebec. Provencher told The Record that when they pitched their plan to open a business-daycare hybrid, the government was completely on board and gave them the green light.
“We made a request for a subsidized private daycare, so the daycare is sort of autonomous but it respects all of the government rules. We also made a request for a daycare in a working environment, so I think it was at that point that we were accepted into phase two,” she said.
