TORONTO – When Camille Mogher returned to work in March 2019, a little over a year after the birth of her son, she was on about seven to 10 waiting lists for childcare and had not received a response from any of them.
She had started her search when her son was three months old and admitted that she should have started her search earlier – many parents in high-demand areas of the province were listed very early in pregnancy – but this was debatable. as the fees were too high though.
“It became very clear to us that the cost of day care in Ontario, and especially in Toronto, was high enough for us to (consider) considering continuing to provide care for our child on our own, as it quickly became clear that the cost was approximately equivalent to a parent’s salary, “Mauger said.
Mauger’s husband took care of their son full-time until she returned to work. The two began reconsidering childcare in early 2021 and managed to secure a place in downtown Toronto, a place Mauger believes would not be easily accessible if it were not for the pandemic.
Affordability issues such as housing and gas prices are central to the Ontario election campaign, and for many parents of young children there is no greater cost to caring for children, which is often a higher monthly cost than mortgage payments.
Average fees in Ontario are currently about $ 73 a day for babies, $ 61 for toddlers and $ 53 for preschoolers, according to a recent deal between Ontario and the federal government to reduce fees to an average of $ 10 a day by 2025 d.
“Our reaction was just great joy and a feeling that this deal is finally over, and it’s at least a step in the right direction,” Mauger said.
Ontario reached an agreement with the federal government in March, making it the last province to do so. The discounts have not yet been reached, but operators have until September 1 to decide whether they want to enroll in the program. If they do, parents will receive a 25 percent reduction in their fees and a reduction until April 1.
Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca has promised to make retroactive concessions by January 1 to explain what he calls Doug Ford’s delay in signing the deal. (The province said it has been negotiating for as long as it can to reach the best deal possible.)
But Adrienne Davidson, an assistant professor of political science at McMaster University with experience in parenting policy, said that with less than half of children between the ages of two and four in Ontario in licensed care, creating new spaces would be most great ongoing care.
“I think most people will just be happy to have a deal, but that doesn’t necessarily deny it as an election issue,” she said.
“These are a lot of children without licensed care and a lot of families who don’t have access to licensed care, and you have to have a child in licensed care to see the benefits, so I think the access part is a part that could potentially be to see more politicization. “
The Ontario parenting deal comes with the promise of 86,000 seats by the end of 2026, although it includes 15,000 that have already been created since 2019. But advocates say that will not be enough to meet the demand that will come with cheaper fees.
Gordon Cleveland, an expert in child care policy and an honorary associate professor at the University of Toronto, said he expects the province to need an additional 200,000 seats by the end of this year.
When the deal was reached, progressive conservatives said Ontario was taking into account some increased demand for its plan and would review progress during the agreement. In addition, municipalities will need to present spatial plans so that the province can distribute them to a “wide range of communities”.
The NDP has promised to ensure that any government-funded expansion of children’s spaces is exclusively for public or non-profit centers. The agreement says Ontario will keep its existing share of non-profit facilities at 70 percent or more.
The overall share of childcare facilities for children aged zero to five is 30 per cent, but varies from region to region, with some faster-growing regions seeing up to 44 per cent of places in non-profit centers, according to figures. contained in the federal agreement.
As of February, about 66% of the applications processed by the Ministry of Education for new central spaces for children aged 0 to 5 are from non-profit operators.
The NDP and the Liberals promise to improve the salaries of early childhood educators. Proponents say many have left the childcare sector to work in schools, such as full-time classrooms in kindergartens, where pay is much higher.
Part of the parenting deal involves setting a minimum wage for registered early childhood educators at $ 18 per hour, increasing by $ 1 each year until it reaches $ 25. The NDP promised an immediate increase to $ 25 for registered ECEs and $ 20 for all other employees of the program. The Liberals also promised to increase the cost of childcare and also to provide free training for ECE College programs.
Carolyn Furns, public policy and government relations coordinator for the Coalition for Better Child Care in Ontario, said the creation of the space simply would not happen without higher staff salaries.
“Until we solve this problem, success in creating 86,000 new spaces for families, because that will not happen until we deal with the labor crisis,” she said.
Ferns herself knows she needs to find a place.
When she was pregnant with her four-year-old son, she was on 12 waiting lists.
“I just drew a circle around my apartment and everything here, like you’re on every list, and I just hope you have something until you have to go back to work,” she said.
Ferns believes she found a job only because she knows the sector and has told every operator she can fill all the last-minute vacancies they have.
“I used to say to every children’s center, ‘I know how you feel. If a place opens and you have to fill it in on Monday, I’ll take it, even if it means I have to go back to work before my leave ends. the mat, I’m just going to do that, “she said. . “And that happened.”
Davidson, the professor, also has personal experience with the struggle to find care for his four-year-old daughter. She, like many parents, made a large number of waiting lists and took the only place that was offered on time.
“We talk a lot about childcare choices, and much of the rhetoric in childcare policy is about choices,” she said.
“Parents often have no choice but to take care of their children. You sign up for as many waiting lists and take what you get. ”
Add Comment