Child care operators have until the provincial deadline of September 1 to confirm their intentions to participate in the $10 per day child care program.
Once approved, an operator has 60 days to refund families 25 percent of fees paid retroactively to April 1 for eligible children.
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Of the roughly 900 for-profit operators who are members of the Ontario Association of Independent Child Care Centers (OAICC), “none” have said they have opted in so far.
“Some have already opted out. Most are waiting to see what resolution can be reached with the province,” said OAICC director Maggie Moser.
Moser said his members would jeopardize their business if they agreed to lower rates without a contract stating the details of the financing.
“Without a contract, they basically ask you to write a blank check… We have been told that nothing will be available for 2023,” he said.
Moser called the show’s launch “a disaster.”
“It’s chaos. It’s disorganized. There is information from the entire province that varies… Right now we cannot choose with the information we have. It would basically bankrupt us, so we can’t do that,” he said.
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More than 200 child care centers have submitted applications to the City of Toronto to participate in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, while nine centers have confirmed their intention to opt out in 2022.
Shanlee McNamee, general manager of Children’s Services for the City of Toronto, told Global News, “The City is happy with the current rate of applications.”
Aurelia Engstrom of East York is the mother of two children. Her youngest child will start daycare in 2023, at which point she hopes it will cost her just $10 a day, as opposed to what she currently pays for her oldest child.
“It’s something we’ve needed for so long to help women, the primary caregivers, get back into the workforce. Especially, I think, at a time when we’ve seen throughout the pandemic how most of the burden has fallen on primary caregivers and mothers who have to care for their children,” she said.
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Engstrom recalled considering moving to Quebec, where daycare is subsidized and costs considerably less than in Ontario.
“I am optimistic that it will eventually be implemented. I’m a little worried that we’re going to see some kind of pushback from our government… I’m worried that we’re going to see something like $4 billion disappear, like they conveniently disappeared from pandemic funding. I am worried that all this will happen. I don’t have much faith in our provincial government,” Engstrom said.
Ontario’s child care agreement with the federal government is structured in such a way that municipalities are responsible for enrollment and distribution of funds.
When Emeline, now four months old, eventually starts kindergarten, her older sister will start school.
“Over time, hopefully, we’ll see that 25 percent reduction, which would make a big difference,” Engstrom said.
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