Fueling Brains Academy Centennial location in Calgary, Alta. on Sept. 13. The daycares at the centre of a significant outbreak of E. coli in Alberta have been given permission to reopen, even as authorities continue to search for the source of the illness, and as confirmed cases, most of them in children, surpass 300.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
Alberta’s NDP critic for child care and children and family services, along with child-care advocates across the country, are calling on the provincial government to launch a full public inquiry into an E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares that as of last week had climbed to 337 confirmed cases with 12 patients receiving care in hospital.
“It’s the only way to ensure that the public gets the answers that are being raised through the devastating outbreak in Calgary and that we get some evidence-based and well-thought-through recommendations to ensure that this never happens again,” says Morna Ballantyne, executive director of Child Care Now, a non-profit, national child-care advocacy organization.
A full public inquiry would not only shed light on how the outbreak happened and establish recommendations to help avoid any such incident in the future, but would also repair the trust in the care and feeding of such a vulnerable population that has been shaken among families across Canada, advocates say.
“I’m sure every parent with a child in daycare in this country over the past week or so has been asking questions of their daycares of how is food handled, how is food prepared. And I think an inquiry just by possibly restoring that trust would be worth it on that front alone,” says Marni Flaherty, interim chief executive officer of the Canadian Child Care Federation.
Premier Danielle Smith said she is not ruling out a public inquiry.
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“There’s going to be a reckoning for sure with these facilities,” she said in comments e-mailed to The Globe and Mail. “If there’s some deficiency in our regulatory environment, we’ve got to correct that. So I’d be open to doing a more thorough investigation once we have some of those answers; whichever form it takes.”
When the outbreak was declared by public-health officials on Sept. 4 there were 17 confirmed cases. As that number rose above 300, Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Mark Joffe, said at a press conference last week that to his knowledge it is the largest outbreak in the province’s history.
Eleven Calgary daycares – six operated by Fueling Brains and five additional sites – were ordered closed by Alberta Health Services when the outbreak was declared. All have since had their closing orders rescinded.
It is highly likely that a kitchen shared by the centres is the source of the outbreak, public officials say.
An inspection of the kitchen conducted on Sept. 5 found several critical violations, including cockroaches and improper food storage equipment.
John Greenhow, whose 2½-year-old son tested positive for E. coli as a result of the outbreak, is one of the many parents who are still looking for answers.
“An inquiry could draw better attention to the depths of betrayal of trust that surrounds this situation and the failure, ultimately, of the regulations surrounding these kitchens that serve vulnerable populations,” he said.
Mr. Greenhow was part of a group of parents who last week sent an open letter to Ms. Smith asking, “What are you going to do to protect our most vulnerable citizens and support their families?”
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Food samples from the kitchen and affected daycares are being tested to identify the cause of the outbreak, but health investigators have said they may never be able to identify the actual source.
Regardless, a public inquiry is needed to answer critical questions, said Diana Batten, Alberta’s NDP critic for child care and children and family services.
“Even if we never figure out what the source was … we can at least look at the legislation. Do we need more inspectors? Do we need different training? Are there things we can put in place that will still help protect the children?” she said.
The outbreak has rattled parents’ faith in the public-health system, Ms. Batten said. “They don’t trust that they’re going to be protected.”
An inquiry is especially needed as the federal government’s Early Learning and Child Care program continues throughout the country toward its goals of expanding publicly funded child care and reducing costs to an average of $10 a day, said Susan Cake, chair of Child Care Now Alberta.
“There’s a lot of government involvement at a variety of levels in child care now because we’re trying to create a system. And so I think that a public inquiry that is transparent, that is hoping, that is looking at mending all of the harms that have been done would be a good step forward,” she said.