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• Support the work of the OCBCC! Become a member today.

10. In January, the OCBCC hired our new Membership Coordinator Viktoria Bitto. Together with our Policy Coordinator Carolyn Ferns, Viktoria and Carolyn make up the new staff team at the OCBCC. Meet our staff team.

9. The OCBCC released Child Care Matters to Everyone: A Snapshot of Child Care in Ontario, which weaves together recent data on child care in Ontario with community voices from around the province talking about lived experience. Read the report.

8.  The OCBCC launched Portraits of Child Care, a collection of stunning photographs that illustrate the importance of high quality staff and environments for all children. Featured in the Toronto Star, Portraits of Child Care is a collaboration between the OCBCC’s Viktoria Bitto and Toronto photographer Joel Clifton. View the gallery.

7.  The OCBCC supported child care advocates in Waterloo and Sault Ste. Marie as they fought for and saved local child care centres. We are so proud to support these vibrant programs. Read our recent letter to Sault Ste. Marie Councillors.

6.  The OCBCC hosted the Ontario Child Care Policy Summit at Ryerson University together with the AECEO, CRRU and CUPE Ontario. Featuring engaging speakers like economist Jim Stanford and sociologist Susan Prentice, the Ontario Child Care Policy Summit brought together academics, activists and community voices to discuss how to win the child care system that Ontario families deserve.

5. The OCBCC’s Child Care Worker and Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Day was adopted as a national day of action for the child care workforce. All over Canada people changed their profile pics to “The Key to Quality”. With support of our members, we distributed 16,000 free buttons and posters around Ontario to celebrate the day! Become a member of the OCBCC to support our advocacy for the child care workforce.

4. The OCBCC and AECEO collaborated on six regional conferences in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, Peterborough, Maple and Niagara, and dozens of community presentations around the province. Look for details in the New Year on next fall’s provincial conference!

3. The OCBCC celebrated the indomitable spirit of the staff and parents of TLC Day Care in Markham with our annual Child Care Advocacy Award. The OCBCC helped highlight this important struggle and supported staff and parents throughout their ordeal. Read TLC's story.

2.  The OCBCC brought the child care message to Ontario’s Gender Wage Gap Steering Committee, highlighting the importance of a publicly funded child care system to both working mothers and the child care workforce. We supported ECEs, parents and supporters to take part in the consultations with our tip sheet for participants. (Pssst! There is still time to submit online responses.)

1.  The Vote Child Care 2015 campaign kept child care high on the federal election agenda. With a new federal government that has publicly committed to a National Early Learning and Childcare Framework, child care advocates must be ready to work harder than ever to make sure a real child care system is a reality for Ontario and Canada. Won't you join us? Join the movement that says “care matters to everyone” and together we can build a system that works.

All the very best for 2016!

Carolyn & Viktoria