The OCBCC provided our pre-budget submission to the Ministry of Finance and the Standing Committee on Finance.

The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario welcomed Monday’s announcement by the federal and Ontario governments that child care fees will be reduced by 50% by the new year.

The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, Child Care Now and the Childcare Resource and Research Unit have written to Ontario Premier Doug Ford with concerns about the Province's approach to the implementation of CWELCC.

Does your child care centre board of directors have questions about the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care agreement? We have put together a fact sheet to help you understand questions such as what the new funding provides your centre, when you will receive funds to provide families, the municipality's role and much more. You can download the PDF version of our fact sheet here.

With the introduction of the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system, there is a new funding model for licensed child care in Ontario, including some new wage improvement funds for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) working in licensed child care.

Ontario child care advocates celebrate hard-won victory with signing Canada-Ontario child care agreement; call for stronger child care workforce strategy

Toronto, ON— Ontario child care advocates are celebrating the signing of the Canada-Ontario child care agreement, but are also warning that child care expansion will fail without addressing the sector’s plummeting staff retention and growing worker shortage.

“Today is a huge step forward, but we must learn from the mistakes of our past and correct course now—we cannot expand on the practices that have deeply broken Ontario’s child care system,” says Carolyn Ferns, Policy Coordinator at the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC). “Child care workers and advocates from across the province agree. Without addressing chronic working conditions, including low wages and inadequate sick leave that are leading to a mass exodus of trained and experienced workers, Ontario’s plan will ultimately fail the families who’ve finally found hope in the province’s child care system.”

Advocates had called for a workforce strategy to include a wage grid starting at $25 per hour wage floor for child care workers and decent work standards that include 10 paid sick days, adequate planning time, and paid time for professional learning.

“The Ford government’s announcement today of a $18 per hour wage floor for ECEs is inadequate and demonstrates how ignorant the government is about the extent of the crisis of recruitment and retention in the province and what salaries and benefits are necessary to solve it,” says Rachel Vickerson, Executive Director of the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO).

Parents also understand the necessity for a provincial child care workforce strategy, reports CUPE, the OCBCC, and AECEO.

“We need and deserve access to early learning and child care workers who are treated with respect and dignity,” says Wendy LaRose of Toronto Parents for Child Care. “We cannot build a universal system of care and early learning on the backs of an exploited workforce, who are mostly women and racialized.”

For more information and media requests:

Carolyn Ferns
Policy Coordinator
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
647-218-1275
[email protected]

Rachel Vickerson
Executive Director
Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario 

647 393 8952
[email protected]

Globe and Mail

The Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario was developed through community engagement and consultation. Over the past year, the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care and the Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario have engaged our members, partners, allies and their communities in discussion about how to move child care forward. This Roadmap sets out our vision and our shared path forward for Ontario child care. The Roadmap features 20 Policy Interventions that can transform early learning and child care in Ontario from a market-based patchwork to a comprehensive, publicly funded system.

• Download the Roadmap to Universal Child Care in Ontario (Eng) in PDF (17pp)
• télécharger le Feuille de route pour un système universel de services de garde à l’enfance en Ontario (Fr)

The OCBCC and AECEO's survey asked Ontario’s early years and child care workforce about current working conditions, mental health and well-being. The responses paint a picture of an early years and child care workforce at a breaking point. Already supervisors have reported having to reduce programs hours and close rooms due to a lack of staff. If there is not meaningful action from the federal and provincial governments to support the workforce, we anticipate further program instability and centre closures.

• Full report in PDF
• Executive summary in PDF 
• Press release in PDF

Ontario child care advocates are celebrating today’s federal budget commitment of $30 Billion to early learning and child care. Advocates are also sending a strong message to Ontario Premier Doug Ford that Ontario must accept federal leadership on child care and work cooperatively with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to build a real system of early learning and child care for Ontario families.