What the regulation requires
In Québec, section 20 of the Educational Childcare Services Regulation (RLRQ c. S-4.1.1, r. 2) requires every member of childcare staff to hold an early-childhood first-aid certificate no more than three years old. That means a course of at least eight hours including a component on managing severe allergic reactions, or a refresher of at least six hours.
The requirement applies to every adult on the floor — educators, assistant educators, substitutes and home-childcare providers alike — not just one designated person.
The regulation does not dictate the format
The regulation sets an outcome to reach: the course length, its content and the certificate’s validity. It stays silent, however, on the mode of delivery. Nothing requires the course, or its practical portion, to be taken in person.
The Ministère accredits neither trainers nor content
The Government of Québec states it plainly: the Ministère de la Famille does not recognize or accredit trainers in this field, and accredits neither the trainers nor the course content.
A childcare service is therefore free to choose its provider on its own criteria — quality of the training, cost, schedule flexibility. Since the Ministère accredits no format, it mandates and excludes none.
Online, blended or in person: all compliant
It follows that training taken online, in a blended format or in person is compliant as long as it meets section 20: eight hours, a severe-allergic-reactions component and a certificate bearing the required mentions. The format has no bearing on the certificate’s legal validity.
Your current certifications stay valid
A certificate obtained under the requirements in force stays valid for its full three-year term. Even if the regulation were to change, a certification already obtained remains in good standing until it expires.
Train with confidence
What matters is not the place but the skill: recognizing distress, clearing a blocked airway, performing resuscitation and managing a severe allergic reaction in a very young child. A recognized, standards-based certification satisfies the regulatory duty and genuinely prepares staff to act in the seconds that count.