EXCERPTS
Ontario and Canada are making it easier for Ottawa-area parents to access early years and child care programming, with support for more child care subsidies and reduced waitlists.
Indira Naidoo-Harris, Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care, was joined by Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi, Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MP Francis Drouin and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson at Mothercraft Ottawa Child Care Centre today to announce that significant investments in early learning and child care from the province and the federal government will:
- Significantly reduce the subsidy waitlist in Ottawa for the 0 to 6 age group and
- Increase subsidies for low and middle-income families, helping 1,000 more children and families access child care in Ottawa.
Ontario is helping 100,000 more children aged 0-4 access affordable, quality, and responsive licensed child care in schools, homes, and communities over the next five years.
Making licensed child care more affordable and more accessible for families is part of our plan to create jobs, grow our economy and help people in their everyday lives.
Quick Facts
- In 2017, total funding for child care in the City of Ottawa will increase from $74.8 million to $87 million – an increase of 16.3 per cent from 2016. This does not include annual funding to increase Early Childhood Educator (ECE) wages.
- This year, Ontario will be spending a historic $1.44 billion on child care, including the ECE wage enhancement, Child Care Expansion Plan and Canada–Ontario Early Learning and Child Care Agreement (ELCC) funding.
- In June 2017, the governments of Ontario and Canada reached a bilateral agreement to increase the accessibility and affordability of high-quality licensed child care and early learning programs. The Government of Canada will provide provinces and territories with $1.2 billion over the next three years for early learning and child care programs.
- The Canada-Ontario agreement also includes investments in Ontario Early Years Child and Family Centres and the creation of Centres of Excellence for professional development opportunities for the early years and child care workforce.
- Since 2012–13, the number of licensed child care spaces in Ontario has grown to 406,395 – an increase of 32 per cent.
-reprinted from Government of Ontario website