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Calgary Herald

Parents left in lurch want refund after licence reinstated for Little Scholars Daycare

A Calgary-based daycare whose licence was revoked last summer over safety concerns has been allowed to reopen. Article content But parents who were left in a lurch by the daycare's sudden closure last August — some of whom paid hundreds of dollars in deposits — say they never received a refund. Article content Article content On Aug. 12, 2024, the provincial government revoked the operating licence for Little Scholars Daycare Greenview, Little Scholars Daycare ECS Ltd. and Little Scholars Daycare Inc., ordering the businesses in north Calgary to immediately close. Article content Article content A news bulletin from the province issued that day stated the closures were due to 'an imminent danger to the health, safety and well-being of children attending the programs.' Article content Article content Before being shuttered, Little Scholars had been operating under a probationary licence, which was set to expire at the end of August 2024. Article content Its closure affected nearly 300 children and their families, as well as roughly 70 employees. Article content But on June 12 this year, a Citizens Appeal Panel rescinded the province's decision, allowing Little Scholars Daycare to reopen. The business had submitted its appeal last September. 'The outcome establishes a critical legal precedent regarding due process and regulatory conduct in the province's child-care sector,' stated a Monday news release from Little Scholars. Article content In the same release, Raj Saini, the daycare's owner, said he feels vindicated by the panel's verdict, adding the appeal 'exposed the errors of the licensing officers.' Article content Article content 'We remained certain that the hearing would confirm the quality of child-care programming provided by Little Scholars,' he said. 'We have always had a great deal of confidence in the care that our employees provide to children and families in our community, and there was simply no evidence presented otherwise. Article content 'We feel our businesses were unjustly targeted, our staff unjustly suffered job loss, and many children and their families had their lives disrupted for no valid reason.' Article content Susan Cake, chair of Child Care Now Alberta and an associate professor of child and youth care at Athabasca University, said there are still a lot of questions about the appeal panel's decision, as well as the province's reasoning to shutter the daycares in the first place. Article content 'We don't have any information, and that seems surprising just because the government changes they've made . . . put a big emphasis on increasing transparency for parents,' she said. 'This doesn't appear to showcase that.'