EXCERPTS
Jennifer Kim plans to return to Ryerson University in the fall to finish her degree in early childhood education. Kim's mother has volunteered to help look after her 7-month-old daughter Lily because infant care is too expensive.
"It's really, really difficult to find daycare (in Toronto)," Kim said. "We want safe, affordable and accessible daycare (and) we're not getting it."
Elise Aymer works from home while caring for her daughter Mariam, who is 20 months old. She too relies on family and the occasional babysitter when she needs additional child care.
Gathered inside a colourful playroom at Network Child Care Services on Ossington Ave. on Sunday morning, these two mothers and several others voiced their concerns about inaccessible and unaffordable child care in Toronto.
They were there to help launch Mothers for Child Care, a task force that will collect opinions, concerns and data related to the child-care system in Toronto.
"There seems to be a lot of talk amongst policy-makers about child care but not a lot of talk that includes mothers," said Sarah Blackstock, advocacy and communications director for YWCA Toronto. "Mothers across this city are frustrated with the state of child care."
The task force, supported by the YWCA Toronto, the Toronto Women's City Alliance and other community organizations, will conduct meetings and hearings across the city, as well as run an online survey. It will analyze the results and release a public report on Father's Day on June 19.
The group acknowledges the vital role fathers play in securing affordable child care. However, this task force will focus specifically on mothers, and how insufficient child care keeps them from returning to paid work or continuing their education, Blackstock said.
"I think these women are saying they're fed up and they don't want to take it anymore," said Janet Davis, city councillor for Ward 31, and a supporter of the task force. "(In some cases) you are paying almost as much as you earn (for child care) just to keep your toehold in your career."
There are roughly 1.2 million children under 12 in Ontario with mothers in the workplace, according to the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. There are 236,988 licensed child-care spaces in Ontario.
Last year Blackstock had her 2-year-old and her 5-year-old in unsubsidized child care. It cost her family $24,000.
"For most middle-class families, that's a huge strain," she said.
There are roughly 18,000 families waiting to receive a child-care subsidy in Toronto, Davis said.
"The demand far exceeds the availability of licensed child care and subsidized child care," she said. "We know many families simply can't access child care because they can't afford the incredible fees. We are facing a crisis in Toronto and across the province."
Sara Czornodolsky calls herself "one of the lucky ones" who has subsidized child care for her son. The single mother of a 2-year-old is upgrading her high school credits so she can eventually apply to college.
"Without child care, I wouldn't be able to do that," she said.
To access the survey, visit mothersforchildcare.ca.
- reprinted from the Toronto Star