Will the Ontario Provincial Budget Save 22,000 Child Care Subsidies?
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.
Members of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care will bring thousands of petitions with thousands of signatures calling for more funding for child care directly to the Ministry of Finance.
WHEN: Monday March 23, 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Ministry of Finance, 7 Queen’s Park Crescent
WHO: Tracy Saarikoski, Co-President of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and Coalition members from around the Province.
“It’s frustrating to have to work to save child care subsidies. Not only do we want to maintain our child care subsidies but we want an expansion of affordable child care so families can continue to work or go to school”.
In the 2009 Ontario Provincial budget, the OCBCC is calling on Dwight Duncan to create 7500 new child care spaces and resume pay equity obligations to child care staff.
“In the early learning and child care sector, we have had to fight for every cent dedicated to young children and families. We have no intention of going backwards and dismantling our child care system” commented Saarikoski.
I am a single parent of a little boy who goes to a home care child care provider that is subsidized by the Region of Waterloo. I pay a partial amount based on my earnings as a full time employee as Bookkeeper/Office Manager. I am grateful for the subsidy, as it means I can work and provide for my little boy. I simply would not be able to work without this service. I am a proud mother and I am very proud that I can work to provide for my son. I would hate to rely on Welfare to provide for my son. The truth being, that if I had to pay the whole cost of child care I wouldn’t be able to work. It would just not make sense to work because half my pay cheque would go to child care and the other half to rent which would leave me with nothing to feed and cloth my child as well as myself.
I am very angry that the thought of getting rid of child care subsidy has even been entertained. So being dependent on Welfare would be the better decision?
Why would anyone want to punish my son or I because I want to work and stay off WELFARE? Why would you want to make us suffer? Why can’t you find it in your heart and in the budget to help those who are helping themselves? I don’t ask for much just a little help with child care costs so I can go to work. Do you not want me to work? . I have a wonderful job with a great company that has been in business for 85 years. I love my job.
Doesn’t anyone care that the reality is that without Child Care Subsidy I would NOT BE ABLE TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!
I am a college graduate, I want to work. Do I not deserve to work? Does my son not deserve to have a hard working mother? Am I not teaching my son a very valuable lesson, by getting up every morning and going to work? My mother was a single parent who graduated from college the first in her family, and worked very hard all her life, one of the most valuable lesson’s she taught me was a lesson she may not even be aware of, she taught me to get an education and go to work. There wasn’t child care subsidy back in those days and unfortunately I was a latch key kid at a very young age. I do not blame my mother for this as really her choices were to work or be on Welfare. She choose to work! I choose to work!
Should I teach my son that staying home on Welfare is okay and that being depressed and having low self confidence is a way of living?
I was wondering if you may know the statistics of crime committed by children raised on Welfare? I’m not sure but I can bet that they are allot higher than children raised by working parents. I myself come from an educated single working parent and I do not have a criminal record.
The issue here is not the strain child care subsidy puts on tax payers, the issue is how much damage will be caused to each and every family that will be devastated if Child Care Subsidy doesn’t receive more funding from the Provincial and Federal Government. In my opinion cancellation or cuts to child care subsidy is equivalent to child abuse, child neglect, child endangerment, and the most irresponsible and neglectful act I have ever seen by our Canadian Government at all levels, in my life! Too bad our government couldn’t be held criminally responseble for such acts.
I do not have family that can care for my son while I am at work. All my friends work during the day while I am at work, so Child Care Subsidy has always been my only choice. Allot of single parents and low income families will be affected greatly if Child Care Subsidy was eliminated. You would have a bigger bill and that bill would be all of us back on Welfare. It is much cheaper for you to fund Child Care Subsidy then it would be to support 2800 children from the Waterloo Region back on welfare. We don’t need a hand out we need a hand up!!!!! So give us a hand up, not a hand out !!! The people who are helping themselves are the people who most deserve your help at this time.
This issue has kept me up at nights wondering what the heck I am going to do if I don’t have child care subsidy? I am in one word TERRIFIED!
I would like to share with you an article I read in The Record today.
New minister of children needed to help lift ranking
April 29, 2009
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA
The Senate is calling for a new minister of children and youth to help lift Canada’s international ranking when it comes to child care. Canada came last among 14 developed countries in a 2006 report on child-care spending and early learning. A new Senate report sets out steps for improvement. It recommends a national advisory council to work with the minister and provinces on child care and parenting programs. The report also calls for an assessment of how just over $1 billion a year is spent on child care and how much more is needed. The Harper government cancelled a $5-billion national child-care program in 2006 in favour of direct payments and tax credits for parents.
At this point I am not sure of how proud I am to be a Canadian!
An educated single working parent.
Jenn
I feel your love for your son and I feel the way you’re feeling because I am a mother too.
My prayers are with you.
In 2012 things are much worse. An educated single working parent will be something of the past. As an undergraduate degree is the new high school diploma (meaning you need one to do just about anything and it really only qualifies you to answer phones) more people are seeking higher education. The new subsidy policy indicates that you do not qualify for any subsidy if you are in graduate, PhD or professional studies. My daycare just received notice of termination of subsidy because I am in a Master’s of Arts in Legal studies. I was told that an undergrad is enough education, I should go get a job and leave the subsidy for the people that need it. So I guess Ill never get the education I want since I decided to have children first.
Think about what this means for all single parents!
Danielle