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]

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.

The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care have written an open letter calling on the Ontario government to protect and respect the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector:
• Increase funding to ensure the safety and well-being of educators, children and families;
• Prevent the further loss of early years and child care programs;
• Ensure transparent communication and collaboration with the sector.

• Executive summary in PDF
• Full report in PDF
• Press release: Two new reports show overwhelming opposition to Ford government’s proposed child care regulations
• Fact sheet: Ontario's child care regulation proposal October 2020

The Ontario government is proposing changes to the Child Care and Early Years Act. The proposed regulations would make substantial changes to age ranges, staff to child ratios and group sizes (called “Schedule 2”); staff qualifications; before- and after-school programs; and discusses the introduction of an unlicensed child care registry.

The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario and the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care carried out an online survey on the changes with 2,443 respondents (1,693 Early Childhood Educators and 741 parents with children in child care). The survey found overwhelming opposition to most of the proposed regulatory changes. Respondents were especially concerned about changes to age groups, staff to child ratios and qualifications.

As part of a 5-year review of the Child Care and Early Years Act, the Ontario government is proposing regulatory changes that could place some younger children into larger groups with fewer qualified staff.

Read our pre-budget brief submitted to the Ontario's government budget consultation.

The report:

• Full report in PDF in English 

The report:

• Full report in PDF in English / en français
• Executive summary in PDF in English / en français
• Press release: "Ontario must get child care right from reopening to recovery"
• Watch a webinar with the report's authors

Take action:

• One-click: Send a message to our federal and provincial leaders.
• Share this one-page action plan with your MP and MPP.
• Campaign Toolkit in PDF