Some Toronto daycares close to protest Ontario funding rules
Protesters were small group of for-profit operators: federal minister spokesperson
Some daycares in Toronto and the GTA closed Tuesday to protest the province's new child-care funding approach, which they say could put them at risk of permanently shutting down — but the education minister says the changes will go ahead.
The new formula, which will take effect in January, impacts daycares enrolled in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, the federal government's plan to reduce fees to $10 a day.
Some daycare operators say the province's changes could under fund their centres, limit operations and threaten their financial autonomy. They say they won't be able to cover costs for special programming or additional staff.
"We're really punishing our educators," said Zoe Prassoulis, who runs a daycare in Vaughan. "These are the backbone of child care, these are the people that are taking care of the most precious thing in people's lives."
Currently, the government covers the amount of money that parents saved when daycare fees were reduced. But the province's new funding formula will be cost-based, meaning operators will receive a main pool of funding based on factors – including location, how many spaces they operate and the age groups they serve.
Prassoulis was among daycare operators and staff at a rally at Queen's Park on Tuesday, calling on the province to pause implementing the new framework and consult with child-care providers.
"We're asking them to consult with us, not just roll out this program and say: 'Hey, this is how it's going to be,'" Prassoulis said.
Starting January, the province is also capping parent fees at $22 a day, down from $23. The province said it's aiming to lower fees to $10 a day by March 2026.
Earlier this month, a group of mainly for-profit daycare operators across Ontario threatened a week of rolling closures to protest the provincial changes starting Monday in Toronto, Peel, York, Halton, Barrie, Muskoka, Durham and potentially other regions.
New funding plan will continue, education minister says
Minister of Education Jill Dunlop said the province is planning to move forward with the new funding plan. She said the formula was created after consultations with daycare operators.
"We've met them, we've listened to those concerns and we took those into consideration when developing the new funding formula," she said on Tuesday.
She said she plans to meet with the protesting daycare operators on Thursday.
Dunlop said she's met with federal Minister of Families Jenna Sudd and is calling on the federal government to provide more funds for child care.
She said Ontario is currently providing three times more in funding toward child care in the province than the federal government.
In a statement to CBC Toronto, Geneviève Lemaire, press secretary for Minister Sudds, said the Ontario government has all the necessary funding they need and has yet to spend existing federal funds.
She said it's been months since the province announced a single new child-care space, even though non-profit daycare operators are ready to expand.
"[The province] just needs to roll up their sleeves and get the job done," she said. "Parents are counting on it."
Lemaire said the majority of child-care centres remained open, outside of a "small group of for-profit operators that are trying to make some noise."
She said the province's new rules are reasonable, allowing operators to make "healthy" but not excessive profits.
Protesting for-profit operators are demanding 20 per cent profit margins, Lemaire said.
"These for-profit operators are closing their doors on families because they want 1 out of every 5 dollars that's supposed to go towards better care for kids, better wages for educators, and more spaces for parents, to end up in their pockets as private profits," she said.
Most daycares don't support protest: policy coordinator
Carolyn Ferns, a policy coordinator with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, says most daycare operators "don't want any part in" the protest.
Several daycare programs have written to their families letting them know they disagree with the protests and the closures, she said.
"The majority of child-care programs, both non-profit and for profit, are busily trying to implement this funding formula for January, ready to make it happen," Fern said.
According to the new formula, Fern said every child-care program will receive a benchmark allocation, which will automatically bring half of child-care programs in the province more funding.
On top of that, child-care programs can receive legacy top ups to cover additional costs if they have higher than average costs, she said.
"This isn't a one-size-fits all," Fern said.
But Mike Schreiner, leader of the Ontario Greens, said he's spoken with child-care providers who don't understand the government's proposed funding plan.
"I would say to the premier, come up with a plan that provides predictable, stable funding and have it be sufficient enough that child-care providers, whether for-profit or nonprofit, can pay their workers living wages," he said.
Stephanie Bowman, MPP for Don Valley West, who was at the Queen's Park protest, said the province is failing in its execution of the federal $10-a-day plan.
Daycare operators were only given 60 days to decide if they were willing to participate after the new formula was announced, which was not enough time, she said.
"I would like to hear the government say, 'we've heard you, this is not clear and we are going to revamp the program,'" Bowman said.
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With files from Lane Harrison, Clara Paseika and Naama Weingarten