Following the floods on Friday, August 9, 160 parents of children attending the Centres éducatifs à ciel ouvert in Vaudreuil-Dorion are left with their beaks in the water, having to come up with a plan B to look after their little ones. The private daycare was heavily damaged, and parents have not been told when it will reopen. 

Three weeks after the events, Néomédia was able to speak to two mothers of children who had attended the facility before the flood. They asked to remain anonymous. We'll call them Cynthia and Linda. 

“The basement of the daycare center was flooded and it's a total loss. It's been closed since the events and will be again next week, at the beginning of September. I'm lucky because I've found a new daycare center for my daughter, but not all parents have been so lucky,” says Cynthia on the other end of the phone. 

Her daughter will start her new daycare center on Tuesday, September 3. Although the basement sustained the most damage, the entire three-storey private daycare center with subsidized and non-subsidized spaces is closed for the time being. 

“There are two pavilions at this private daycare center, each accommodating 80 children, for a total of 160. The other floors were not damaged by the water, but they cannot reopen for the time being, as the mechanical room that powers them is located in the basement and was heavily damaged. In a recent e-mail, we were told that some parts of the mechanical components have been ordered and will arrive within a few weeks.I know they're looking for premises, but they can't find any at the moment,” she adds. 

Proactive management in search of premises 

Néomédia was able to get its hands on the e-mail in question. In the communication sent to parents of users of the location, it states: 

“Please be advised that we are continuing to try to find alternative solutions so that we can offer our services as soon as possible, either in another location or on the upper floors of the daycare (...) The basement is now completely dismantled, and drying and disinfection have begun. Reconstruction work can begin in a few days to a few weeks, depending on the drying time required,” the message reads. 

The same message, dated August 28, continued: “The mechanical room components needed to keep the building running are on order and can be reinstalled as soon as we receive them in a few weeks. In the meantime, we are trying to find temporary solutions to replace the parts that require weeks of manufacturing/delivery to be able to use the building with the minimum of mechanics required. We are also checking available options with the architects and the Ministère de la Famille regarding temporary premises.” 

Parents are even invited to suggest temporary premises that could accommodate the business. 

According to our information, the daycare's management has even contacted the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion to find out about vacant premises on its territory. Parents have even taken to social networks to explain the situation and urgently seek a new location. It's not as simple as it sounds, however, as the location will have to meet Ministère de la Famille standards before it can accommodate the company's children and staff.  

Communication in dribs and drabs 

While management seems to be in proactive mode when it comes to looking for premises, this is not the case when it comes to communicating with parents affected by the closure, according to the two moms who agreed to testify. 

“I found out the daycare was closed while walking my dog. I didn't receive any emails to inform me in the days following the flood. That's just not right. What's worse is that new children were due to join the daycare on Tuesday, September 3, and the parents weren't informed of the situation. They don't know that it's closed next week. This is deplorable. We're receiving information piecemeal and they refuse to give us a deadline for the renovations. We don't know what the next steps are or what the timetable is,” says Cynthia.  

It's the same story for the second, who finds the most disturbing aspect of the situation to be the lack of communication from management. “A CPE in Montreal was also flooded, and they clearly told parents how long it would take to reopen. That way, they can work things out. Here, we can't make arrangements with our employers or relatives, because we don't know how long it will take to do the work. I'm lucky, because for the last three weeks, my son has been with his grandparents. But from tomorrow onwards, I'll have to make my own arrangements,” says Linda. 

The two women's aim in making this situation public is to help management find a space and solve the problem in the short term. “Parents are trying to be active on social networks to find solutions and suggest premises. We're hoping for a quick solution,” says Cynthia.

Cynthia was able to speak with a representative of the Ministère de la Famille on Thursday, August 29, to find out more. “I was told that there's no specific date to offer parents, because the owners have to wait for the insurance representative who hasn't yet come by and seal the affected premises before they can reopen.” 

“We don't seem to be given a deadline so that we don't look for a place elsewhere, but we have no choice. Not all parents are lucky enough to work from home, or to have good people around them to take care of the kids. Some are really badly taken. I feel we're withholding information and not being told everything.  I don't doubt that they're doing what they can to find space, but a lot of parents are in turmoil right now and their handling of things taints my experience at this daycare in a negative way. Before this situation, I'd never had a problem with the management,” concludes Linda. 

Néomédia attempted to contact the management by e-mail and telephone, but they did not respond.