In a scathing 142-page report, Ontario’s ombudsman decried the “systematic government ineptitude” in oversight of unlicensed home daycares in the wake of the deaths of four children in the GTA over seven months in 2013-14.

Andre Marin issued an unprecedented 113 recommendations Wednesday to improve safety for the estimated 823,000 children cared for in unregulated settings across the province.

Marin noted that new daycare legislation, which was introduced last December and received second reading Wednesday, will address 35 of his recommendations once it is passed. Although he stopped short of calling for all day cares to be licensed, Marin urged the ministry to consider tougher standards for the unlicensed sector, including a centralized registry.

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