Ontario’s child care policy now creates a universal, flat-fee child care for medium and high-income families but doesn’t guarantee subsidies to low-income families. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Ontario’s child‑care agreement is poised to fail low‑income children and families

Ontario’s flat fee for child care should be replaced by an income-tested fee reflecting family incomes.
Children whose parents work irregular hours and children from families with lower incomes are over-represented in home child care. (Shutterstock)

Home child care in Canada should be affordable, high‑quality — and licensed

A renewed model for oversight and support of all home child-care providers would ensure that our society’s youngest and most vulnerable people have access to safe and higher-quality home child care.
A photo of the last truck to be assembled on the General Motors production line, shown at a sports bar where GM workers congregated after their work work at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ont., on its final day of vehicle production, on Dec. 18, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

Canada can better prepare to retrain workers displaced by disruptive technologies

The federal government must take a stronger leadership role to ensure the many bodies that co-ordinate employment training programs are sharing information to develop best practices.
Reducing the number of child care subsidies will mean that some parents will not be able to support their families or continue their studies. (Shutterstock)

Ontario’s child‑care cuts will hurt low‑income parents working or studying full time

For better childhood developmental outcomes and better economics, and in the absence of other long-recommended child care policies, the child care subsidy system should be expanded, not cut.
The Ontario government tabled legislation Dec.6 which would increase the number of young children who can be cared for at once by home child care providers. The proposed legislation is as part of larger reform measures introduced under the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act that the province says will cut red tape for businesses. Shutterstock

The Ontario government’s plan to loosen child‑care rules is dangerous

Low-income, less-educated parents with non-standard work schedules rely most on home child-care providers whose rules would be relaxed under proposed legislation.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s minister of Families, Children and Social Development, plays with children at a licensed YMCA daycare in downtown Toronto on March 29, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim)

Will Ontario child‑care dollars come with a commitment to quality and safety?

Until all child care facilities are licensed – and required to undergo criminal record checks, fire safety inspections and first aid training – children will continue to die.

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