Advocates happy with child-care deal, still seeking increased pay for ECE workers
The Ontario government has signed a child-care deal with the federal government that will deliver an average of $10 a day childcare by 2025.
"This is real money that will stay within the pockets of families this year to help with everything else,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a news conference in Brampton on Monday morning.
Ontario is the last province to make a deal with Trudeau's $30 billion national child-care program which is valued at $13.2 billion over 6 years.
“I’m very excited that Ontario has finally joined the national child-care program. It's just so excellent for children and families across Ontario,” said Kara Pihlak, the executive director of the Oak Park co-op children's centre.
Pihlak along with a group of other locals has been advocating for changes within the childcare system including wage increases for early childcare educators.
Premier Doug Ford announced fees will be reduced by 25 per cent for all Ontario families with children five years old and younger in licensed childcare centres, retroactive to April 1. Parent rebates retroactive to that date will be provided in May.
In December there will be a 50 per cent reduction in costs for 2022.
Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, an expert in early childhood education said she hopes, “Ontario takes into consideration the different circumstances of each family,” adding, “I hope it continues to provide some support to families that actually need childcare the most.”
Though many parents and advocates are pleased to see affordable changes being made, some child care advocates believe there is still more work that needs to be done.
Pihlak would like to see a wage increase for early childcare educators to recruit and retain employees in the province.
"The issue is there are not enough spaces already for childcare and if this Ford government is wanting to build 80,000 child-care spaces, we already don't have enough early childhood educators and we're not going to be able to fulfill that promise to families,” she said.
The child-care deal also includes the creation of 86,000 child-care spaces, 15,000 of which have already been in place since 2019.
“What good is saving money on fees if there isn’t a spot, to begin with? “said Pihlak, hoping to hear further details from the province on an increase in pay for early childhood educators.
— With files from CTV Toronto’s Phil Tsekouras
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Byelection results: Justin Trudeau handed his second byelection upset in recent months
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been handed his second byelection upset in recent months, as the Bloc Quebecois won LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, Que., a longtime Liberal seat in Montreal.
Canada's inflation cools to 2% in August, the smallest gain since early 2021
Canada's annual inflation rate reached the central bank's target in August at it cooled to 2 per cent, its lowest level since February 2021, data showed on Tuesday.
Watch out for texts offering free gifts — it's likely a scam
An Ontario man thought he got some good news when he received a text message offering a $30 gift for being a loyal Giant Tiger customer. 'I do go to that store so I clicked on the link and it said it was a customer appreciation award they were going to give people,' Mark Martin, of Simcoe, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.
A key employee who called the Titan unsafe testifies the company only wanted to make money
A key employee who labelled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified Tuesday that he frequently clashed with the company's co-founder and felt the company was committed only to making money.
GoFundMe cancels fundraiser for Ontario woman charged with spraying neighbour with a water gun
A Simcoe, Ont., woman charged with assault with a weapon after accidentally spraying her neighbour with a water gun says GoFundMe has now pulled the plug on her online fundraiser.
'Not that simple': Trump drags Canadian river into California's water problems
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised "more water than you ever saw" to Californians, partly by tapping resources from a Canadian river.
Toxic chemicals used in food preparation leach into human bodies, study finds
More than 3,600 chemicals that leach into food during the manufacturing, processing, packaging and storage of the world's food supply end up in the human body — and some are connected to serious health harms, a new study found.
Sean 'Diddy' Combs is expected in court after New York indictment
Sean 'Diddy' Combs, the hip-hop mogul who has faced a stream of allegations by women accusing him of sexual assault, was arrested late Monday in New York after he was indicted by a federal grand jury.
A French man admits in court to drugging his wife so that he and dozens of men could rape her
A 71-year-old French man acknowledged in court Tuesday that he drugged his then-wife and invited dozens of men to rape her over nearly a decade, as well as raping her himself. He pleaded with her, and their three children, for forgiveness.