How intense pressure from for-profit daycares has transformed Ontario’s rollout of $10-a-day child care — and sparked a political standoff.
In the face of intense pressure from for-profit companies with exploitative pay structures, new funding for publicly subsidized child care for all Ontario children is being delayed by a year.
Daycare providers have pressured the Liberal government of Ontario to expand access to a publicly subsidized rate for their fees, which start at $10 a day for three- and four-year-old children.
Yet, just months after the Liberals committed to expanded subsidized child care by 2020, an internal report from ministry officials notes the move is “not currently feasible.”
Ahead of federal-provincial negotiations, Ontario announced on Nov. 29 it would delay expansion until the spring of 2019.
While the delay does not come with a formal date, public funding for child care will not become available until the 2019/2020 school year.
In a brief statement, the government made clear it has no intention to “prevent” for-profit companies from charging child care fees.
“Ontario’s daycare sector has been plagued with challenges for almost 20 years, and we’re looking at all avenues to help ensure that our children get the quality care they deserve,” Attorney General Doug Downey said.
“We’re committed to ensuring that anyone can access publicly funded child care, as long as they are enrolled in a subsidized child care program.
“Child care is provided on a first come, first served basis, and we need to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect all of Ontario’s children from being forced to pay unnecessarily high fees.”
Since the Liberals came to power, for-profit childcare providers have aggressively lobbied for the introduction of their own publicly subsidized rate.
The Progressive Conservatives have said more subsidies will only help for-profit companies.
“The government will never stand for what they say they stand for, even if it means letting some business people make billions of dollars,” NDP Daybreak Toronto spokesperson Andrew McCarron said. “We