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CBC
24-05-2025
- General
- CBC
St. George's community sick of waiting on government approval for child-care centre
It's a crisp sunny spring morning in St. George's on the southwest coast of the island. Seven toddlers squeal as they run around the baseball field in the middle of town. All their moms gather around, talking about naps, mittens and the lack of daycare in their community. "There's limited work here and if you do have work here then you do not have anyone to watch your kids. So yeah, it's a struggle," said Samantha Ploughman, a mom who relies on her mother to watch her kids so she can go to work. WATCH | Families are stuck waiting for child care in this community: This four-year-old says he needs a daycare. Others in St. George's agree and are growing impatient 1 day ago Duration 2:36 A woman who wants to open a daycare centre in the southwestern community of St. George's says she has everything ready to go — except government approval. The CBC's Colleen Connors reports. The morning gathering was organized by Rhonda Sheppard, a daycare operator who used to offer child-care services for up to six children at her home. Unfortunately, she had to stop after a house fire in October of 2023. But even before the fire, Sheppard says she had started the push for a registered daycare centre within the town of St. George's. For two years now, she has been trying to turn an old store on the main road into a centre to hold up to 35 children. Sheppard says she has the building, the wait list, even the staff, but she is struggling to receive approval from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. "I figured we would be in the day care by now, but we are not. And nothing's being done," she said. "Really, I'm just ready to stop. When it's your community just trying and trying and trying." Sheppard says the application for a capacity grant, to pay for renovations at the designated building, has been before the department for months. When CBC News inquired about the status of the new daycare, director of communications Angela Sullivan sent an emailed statement that said the department is reviewing applications for new daycare centres. "The department carefully evaluates each submission to ensure a thorough and fair assessment process," wrote Sullivan. "The provincial government remains committed to ensuring access to high-quality, affordable child care for families across the province." For daycare worker Crystal Colombe-Young, the wait is just not good enough. She used to work with Sheppard at her home daycare and thoroughly misses the work and the children. During Sheppard's morning meet up she runs around the field with the young toddlers, playing tag. "We need it. There are parents that have to stay home from work or get their mothers and fathers and people in their family to watch their children, right. There is no need. We should have a daycare here. We have the room. We have spaces. Lets utilize it. Let's make it happen," said Colombe-Young. Sheppard says when the registered daycare centre opens it will be big enough to service the whole region, not just St. George's. "We can serve people from Flat Bay, people from out west. We can service people from Stephenville Crossing, Mattis Point, anywhere. There's been people calling me from Stephenville and Kippens and Port and Port," said Sheppard. For the time being, this group of children, parents and grandparents will have to wait, and rely on each other for child-care services.
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Norway opens floating offshore wind tender
OSLO, May 19 (Reuters) - Norway has launched the first part of its long-awaited inaugural floating wind tender, it said on Monday, offering subsidies to the winners despite the challenges faced by the global offshore wind industry. The industry has grappled with skyrocketing costs, higher interest rates and supply chain bottlenecks, prompting governments to halt or postpone tenders due to a lack of interest from bidders. In a first step, the process foresees bidders being awarded the rights to develop commercial projects of up to 500 megawatts (MW) in capacity at the Utsira Nord site off the country's south-west coast. The winners will then have two years to mature the projects before competing in an auction for subsidies in 2028-2029, to be provided as a direct grant. "Utsira Nord is an important first step in the development of commercial floating offshore wind development on the Norwegian continental shelf," Norway's Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement. Norway has agreed to cap total subsidies at Utsira Nord at 35 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.37 billion), reflecting the technology's relative immaturity. "The model for allocating project areas and state support is adapted to floating offshore wind and will contribute to both technology development and cost reductions for subsequent projects," Aasland said. Norway is not part of the European Union but participates in the bloc's internal market, requiring it to comply with EU rules, including on state aid, a process that is managed by the EFTA surveillance authority (ESA). The latter approved Norway's proposal to tender acreage suitable for floating wind farms at Utsira Nord in April. Floating wind turbines are deemed particularly suitable for greater water depths where fixing the foundation into the seabed is not possible. Norway awarded a first bottom-fixed offshore wind farm licence in 2024 but will focus solely on floating wind farm development when it next announces new tenders. ($1 = 10.3723 Norwegian crowns)
