Saturday’s Editorial: “Last week’s provincial budget covered a lot of ground with a harmonized sales tax to boost business and enhanced child benefits and tax credits for low-income families. But the $109 billion budget still didn’t manage to meet all the needs of a province seeking to reduce poverty and create jobs.

Affordable daycare, for one, was left out, notwithstanding the fact that it would both reduce poverty and stimulate employment. Expanded daycare would create jobs for child-care workers, enable parents to retrain for better jobs so they can participate in the knowledge economy that Ontario’s future depends on, and help single mothers lift their families out of poverty through work. » Continue reading “Toronto Star Criticizes Ontario Budget over Lack of Child Care Support”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   MEDIA RELEASE                March 26, 2009

No new funding for child care could see the dismantling of child care programs

Toronto – In economic tough times, parents need affordable child care more than ever to stay in the workforce or go to school.

Child care advocates, parents and municipalities told the Government that without new provincial funding to replace expiring federal funds, municipalities would be forced to cut child care subsidies starting in September. » Continue reading “No new funding for child care could see the dismantling of child care programs”

“Local day care is facing total collapse, warn county and child care officials, if provincial Best Start program funding is not renewed a year from now.

Debbie Milne is on a mission to make sure that doesn’t happen. She remembers what it’s like to have a waiting list for subsidized child care spaces and wants to ensure that list remains a thing of the past.

Milne, executive director of First Adventure Child Development Centre, said the loss of provincial funding — set to run out in March, 2010 — could “decimate the whole child care field.”

» Continue reading “Belleville Intelligencier: Day care facing collapse”

Issued after we dropped off thousands of petitions to the Ministry of Finance on March 23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   MEDIA RELEASE                March 23, 2009

“We Won’t Go Backwards”

Child Care Advocates Call for Funding in the Provincial Budget to Prevent Dismantling of Child Care System
Toronto – Without additional funding in Thursday’s Provincial Budget, thousands of child care subsidies will be cut by municipal governments starting in September 2009. » Continue reading “Press Release – “We Won’t Go Backwards””

Media Advisory

Toronto – Without additional funding in Thursday’s Provincial Budget, thousands of child care subsidies will be cut by municipal governments starting in September, 2009.

“This year’s Ontario Budget is one of the most important in many years for child care programs. It’s unthinkable that in tough economic times, we would cut existing child care subsidies”, says Tracy Saarikoski, Co-President, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care.  » Continue reading “Will the Ontario Provincial Budget Save 22,000 Child Care Subsidies?”

Thursday March 26
3:30 to 5:30
St. Stephens Child Care Centre
91 Bellevue (South of College, West of Spadina)
Budget Starts at 4:00 p.m.

All Welcome – Join Us! » Continue reading “Budget Watch – for Children and Families”

Yesterday’s Toronto Star had a significant piece on why the Poverty Reduction Strategy must move ahead, even in economic hard times. Not only will child care, housing, increased child benefit and other provincial measures reduce poverty but they will help sustain local economies and provide needed services and infrastructure for communities.

From the opinion piece ” .. urge the Ontario government to make the most of this moment by investing in social infrastructure to build affordable housing and child-care spaces. …”. To read the full article, please click here.

Here is an exchange from the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park from Thursday March 12, 2009. Andrea Horwath is the new leader of the NDP, she’s asked many child care questions in her time at Queen’s Park – we welcome this first question from her as the Party’s new leader!

Ms. Andrea Horwath: To the acting Premier: Across our province, parents are struggling to find child care. Only 12% of Ontario families have access to licensed child care in this province. It’s not a luxury; it’s an economic imperative. It allows parents, especially mothers, to attend school, continue working or actively seek employment. Yet in London, Ottawa and Toronto, those three cities together, we have at least 23,000 eligible children on waiting lists. How can this government continue to let down so many children and parents? » Continue reading “Child Care Question in the Ontario Legislature”

Malcolm Allen is the NDP Member for Welland and he made the following statement last week in the House of Commons in Ottawa:

Malcolm’s Statement on Child Care, Fri 13 Mar 2009, http://malcolmallen.ndp.ca/node/83

“Mr. Speaker, thousands of workers are finding themselves unemployed or facing unemployment and the cold response from the government to the needs of Canadian families will unfortunately be felt largely by the most vulnerable: our children. » Continue reading “NDP Statement on Child Care from the House of Commons”

On March 5, The Guelph Resource Centre for Gender Empowerment and Diversity hosted a panel discussion focusing on the issue of gender equality in Canada. 

From the Ontarion: “Jenny Robinson, speaking on behalf of the Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare, discussed the need to improve childcare in the context of gender equality. According to Robinson, “the Canadian government spends the least on childcare as a percentage of its GDP of any developed country … only 12 percent of parents have licensed childcare; the majority rely on half hazard quality childcare.”

For Robinson, childcare is necessary for women with children to be independent, receive an education and play an integral role in the work force”

To read the full article, please click here.