'It was racially motivated': Calgary daycare owners speak out after licences cancelled

The owners of three Calgary child-care programs are speaking out after being shut down this week, accusing the provincial government of racism.

Little Scholars Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc. were ordered to close Monday due to what the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade described as an "imminent danger" to children in the programs.

The programs were first placed on probationary licences until Aug. 30 due to a number of non-compliances.

After monitoring the programs and "ongoing concerns and increased risk," the licences were cancelled effective Aug. 12.

The daycares' owner, Raj Saini, said he plans to appeal the closures.

"We have a history of past 13 years, not a single child was hurt," he said.

"It's safe for kids here."

Saini believes he and his staff were unfairly targeted due to their cultural background.

"It's not a misunderstanding. They accused. (They said) certain cultures have a tendency to hit children," he said.

"We never wanted to be stereotyped by anyone but this is what happened. When we complained, there were repercussions and suddenly the barrage of non-compliance complaints kept on coming."

Saini's daughter and assistant director, Shachie Saini, said efforts were made to rectify the issues raised during inspections but believed they were set up to fail.

"I do think we were being targeted and – I don't say this lightly – I do think it was racially motivated. A lot of our employees are people of colour," she said.

"They have this assumption and biases before they come in and they came in here to look for something, not to help us."

The closure impacts 297 children and 70 staff.

Inspections on the province's child-care lookup tool revealed violations connected to the use of physical restraint, confinement and/or isolation, a lack of child supervision and a failure to meet staffing levels, though those details are no longer available on the site.

"It's important to keep in mind, it's extremely hard to shut down a child-care business in Alberta," said Susan Cake with Child Care Now Alberta, a non-profit group that advocates for publically funded childcare.

"I'm not sure if I've heard of three centres being shut down at the same time, so it makes me think what is being found there was quite alarming and unsafe for children."

CTV News did reach out to the Ministry of Jobs, Economy and Trade regarding the accusations of racism and was directed to a prior statement that did not address the claims.

In part, it reads the department works with daycares facing non-compliance to address issues of concern.

"Compliance is the goal, closure is the last resort. Licensed child-care providers whose licences have been cancelled have the right to an appeal and, as such, we are unable to release the full list of non-compliances relating to Little Scholars Daycare Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc."

Concerns about child-care programs in Alberta can be reported to Child Care Connect by calling 1-844-644-5165.