BERNADETTE CHILDCARE CENTER SET TO CLOSE WITH BROOKS BUILDING DEMOLITION
The University of Ottawa announced plans in 2021 to demolish the Brooks building, which houses the university’s only daycare: the Garderie Bernadette Child Care Center. The center, founded in 1988, currently cares for about 50 children and serves students and employees of the University of Ottawa, as well as families of the community. There are 15 full-time employees of Bernadette as well as one part-time staff member.
In a press release in Fall 2022, the University did not mention the relocation of Bernadette, only saying “a six-months advance notice will be provided prior to demolition unless it is not feasible to do so for safety and security considerations”.
“[U of O] appreciates the challenges of finding quality daycare, but it is unfortunately unable to provide alternative space that meets the strict requirements for licensed daycare facilities.”
If the university closes Bernadette, the U of O would be the only U15 university to not have an on-campus daycare center. Natalie Bruvels, Ph.D. student in feminist and gender studies and a part of the coalition working to save Bernadette, believes that the closure of the daycare is irreconcilable with the university’s mandate of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“[Bernadette’s closure] affects marginalized parents and caregivers more profoundly as the struggle to find accessible and affordable child care services is even more pronounced for these families,” she wrote in a letter to the university’s Board of Governors. As one of the few bilingual daycares in Ottawa, Bernadette’s closure “would therefore also affect uOttawa’s francophone community.”
The goal of the coalition is to have a commitment from the University of Ottawa to find an alternate location for the childcare center “that ensures uninterrupted childcare service once Brooks Building is closed for demolition.”
The coalition also believes that the demolition of the Brooks building is an opportunity for U of O to build an “even larger and much needed childcare facility with more expansive childcare offerings.”
A similar closure was scheduled to take place in July 2023 at Concordia University, but was cancelled after public backlash. Concordia University had decided not to renew the Centre de la petite enfance (CPE) Concordia’s lease, planning to use the space for “academic activities.” However, after TV coverage of the story, the administration backpedaled, extending the CPE’s lease to Aug. 2025 and promising to find a new location for the center.
Bruvels and the coalition hope the same happens for Bernadette Child Care Center: “I hope they follow the lead of other universities like UBC and actually expand their child care programs instead of undoing over 50 years of on-campus childcare advocacy.”
