In the last provincial budget the Ontario government pledged to support front-line child care workers by providing an average $1 per hour wage increase in 2015, followed by a further $1 an hour in 2016.

The first increase is set to start in January 2015. We anticipate details of the distribution of these funds in the coming days.

At the time of the announcement in April 2014 the Ontario government said that these funds would help “stabilize child care operators, support the ability to retain ECEs, and close the wage gap”. At that time, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, and our member organizations, welcomed and thanked the Ontario government for this action.

Front-line child care workers are eagerly anticipating these wage dollars.

High quality, non-profit child care centres are awaiting these funds too. Non-profit child care centres are often caught in a squeeze between providing decent wages for workers and affordable fees for families.

Many high quality, non-profit child care operators have struggled for years to pay their workers decent wages, and welcome this financial support from the Ontario government in helping them provide better wages for every worker.

We look forward to sharing the details of this wage funding with our members as soon as they are released.