Is $10-a-day childcare becoming a reality for families across Canada?

BY PAUL JUNOR

It was in March 2022 that Ontario announced that it had signed the national Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the federal government. The Government of Canada’s plan intends to ensure that 250,000 new childcare spaces will be available throughout Canada with 40,000 spaces being available before 2020 through the 2017-2018 and 2019-2020 agreements. Ontario is expected to receive $10.2 billion in federal funding through 2026-2027, which is part of the $9.2 billion federal commitment from Budget 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the press release, “With the signing of the agreement, we’re making $10-a-day childcare a reality for families across the country. Today’s announcement will save Ontario families thousands of dollars each year – while creating jobs, growing the middle class, and giving our kids the best start in life.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated in the press release, “I’m so proud of the work we’ve done with our federal partners to land an agreement that will lower costs for families across the province. Given how complex Ontario’s childcare system is, we wanted to get this right. We’re delivering a deal that will keep money in the pockets of hard-working parents.”

Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance noted, “A year ago, our government made a commitment to Canadians: to deliver affordable high-quality early learning and childcare for young families across the country. Now that agreements have been reached with all provinces and territories, a cause championed by generations of forward-thinking Canadians is about to become a reality.”

In March 2022, the Ontario government extended the deadline for childcare providers to apply for Ontario’s $10/day program until November 1^st, 2022. There are concerns regarding why daycares are not opting in and what this extension could potentially mean for parents in a cosmopolitan city such as Toronto.

The Ontario Financial Accountability Officer (FAO) made several observations after reviewing the Ontario government. It noted that there will be a significant increase in the number of families expecting affordable options due to a decrease in daycare costs, and that there are far more than 375,111 spaces that Ontario is projected to need which would mean that many families will not benefit from this agreement.

Ontario has signed on to use federal funding to decrease parent’s fees for full-time Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) spaces for children below the age of six, which translates to around $10 per day by the end of the fiscal year 2025 to 2026.

Since the signing of the deal in March 2022, it has not been smooth sailing between childcare operators who have run-for-profit facilities, and Ontario government officials.

CTV News reported on October 29^th, 2022, that as of Friday, October 28^th, 86% of childcare centres in Ontario have opted to participate with the government extending the deadline to November 1^st.

There is still so much for childcare operators to figure out as they navigate municipal rules. There is a need for additional funding to offset inflation so that these operators are able to make enough money to cover their rent, salaries, and food costs. Under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, there has been a reduction of 37% of daycare fees for parents as on December 31^st, 2022. Also, there will be a further 25% fee reduction which is retroactive to April 1^st, 2023. The cumulative reductions will lower fees to 50% of 2020 levels.

Child-care operators are apprehensive about what will happen after next year, and they wished that there was a five-year model in place to smoothen the transition.