Access to childcare is a critical workplace issue. Parents with young children are often forced to choose between spending a large portion of their income on childcare, or leaving the workforce to care for their children. In particular, an inability to secure reliable and affordable childcare disproportionately affects working mothers. This was exacerbated at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when women began leaving the workforce in large numbers to care for their children.
The federal and provincial governments have taken steps towards addressing this issue by making childcare more affordable. All 13 provinces and territories have signed on to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system (CWELCC), the federal government’s $10-a-day daycare program. This includes an asymmetrical agreement with the Government of Quebec, as Quebec already has a subsidized childcare program. The new federal program is based on Quebec’s subsidized childcare program which was launched in 1997.
In March 2022, the Ontario government reached a six-year $13.2 billion CWELCC agreement with the federal government to deliver an average of $10 a day childcare by September 2025. As part of the agreement, the Ontario government has committed to creating 86,000 new affordable licensed childcare spaces by December 2026.
While the Ontario government has started implementing the CWELCC, many parents face long waitlists. One mother based out of London Ontario, Kathleen Tevlin, has been waiting for a placement for her daughter since April 2021. Given the limited spaces, Tevlin argues that parents going back to work should get priority over those currently on parental leave.
Although the CWELCC program is a great step towards making childcare more affordable, daycare facilities will need to drastically increase their capacity to meet increased demand. Hopefully, new daycare spots will continue to open up on pace to meet the Ontario government’s commitment to $10 a day childcare by 2025.
-AKS
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