EXCERPTS
Parents across Ontario have expressed disappointment at a Provincial Government decision to slash funding for 51 planned childcare projects consisting of more than 3,000 much needed spaces in the city of Toronto.
These new projects, which would have opened up additional spaces in local schools, were already approved and ready to go but are now in jeopardy because the Ford government removed all provincial funding at the very last minute as part of their budget cuts.
Now the City of Toronto and the Toronto District School Board have until August 30 to replace the lost provincial funding, or, these projects will be cancelled.
The Conservatives didn’t seem to have a problem with paying out $1 billion to rip up the Beer Store contract, nor did they have any issue in losing $150 million to get rid of the so- called “Six Million dollar man” at Hydro One, yet they now claim that the province can’t afford to fund vital new child care projects?
Ontario is currently experiencing an affordable child care crisis. Right now, we pay the highest average child care fees anywhere in Canada.
Working parents are under significant stress when trying to find a daycare spot for their children, and spend on average almost $1,700 a month on childcare.
Having fewer available child care spaces could increase costs due to demand, making the situation even worse.
Families deserve better than this.
The Ontario NDP and I have been fighting to make childcare more affordable for all Ontarians. In order to do this, we need to fund more affordable childcare spaces rather than make cuts that hurt Ontario children and their families.