Only Quebec and New Brunswick have given the green light for overnight camps, while camps in the rest of Canada are still in the dark, and running out of time to clear logistical hurdles for coming season
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For the second consecutive year, many day camps and sleepover camps say they won’t be able to operate this summer without emergency funding from the Quebec government.
The Association des Camps du Québec says it needs $10 million in financial aid $6 million for overnight camps and $4 million for day camps in order to follow all the health protocols because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Quebec has given day camps the green light to open this summer, but has not lifted a government decree that prevented sleepaway camps from operating last year.
Parents are eagerly waiting for a word from the government too, especially those with children who can benefit from special programming. For Shimon Becker, who’s son Mikey is on the autism spectrum, summer camp is an invaluable resource. “He tends to be better at socializing at camp than during the school year, and meeting friends,” said Becker, echoing calls from a group of pediatricians who wrote an open letter to the province calling for the reopening of camps. Dr Earl Rubin, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, says the benefits for children’s mental health offered by summer camps are irreplaceable elsewhere.