CBC News 

Only 20% of children being able to enter a licensed daycare millions of children are left to the care of unregulated and unsupervised centres. Marketplace has done an investigation to gain some insight into the inner workings of these unlicensed daycares.

Within these centres, Marketplace has, “found some providers with no training or credentials taking care of kids in potentially dangerous settings and, in some cases, breaking the law.”

Investigating into 20 various centres in Vancouver and Toronto facilities were found with concerning conditions for children. In some cases there were individuals driving children, as young as 11months, without their car seats. Not only the centres themselves but the supervision as well is disconcerting. Martha Friendly states:

"It's not that everybody who's running an unregulated home is not good, but they may not be knowledgeable," she warned. "There are perfectly good people running unregulated homes, but you the parents have no way of knowing," she said.”

Some parents have said they feel that unlicensed daycares are better with their flexibility and care. Providers in Toronto claim that being licensed would not be completely ideal due to the lack of pay for providers and workers. Canada, Friendly argues, is in need of “comprehensive, well-funded childcare” to aid parents. Canada, according to a UNICEF report, is among the worst of 25 developed countries for basic childcare.

"What we need is for parents to rock the boat, to demand that they need a child-care spot," he urged. "You would never imagine that you would move to a different jurisdiction and not get access to an elementary school or health care."

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Click here to watch the Marketplace's episode, Who's Watching the Kids?