Labour organizations and community groups in Ontario are rallying around the non-profit child care sector as it faces an uncertain future. An open letter was sent to Ontario education minister Todd Smith Friday asking him to reconsider his request for the federal government to lift the cap on for-profit childcare.
“We recognize the immediate need to expand child care spaces and reduce waitlists,” the letter reads, “but expanding for-profit child care will not solve the underlying issues that limit growth in the sector.”
This letter began collecting signatures in response to news that Todd Smith penned a joint letter with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO). In the letter, Smith and AMO say cities have been unable to accommodate thousands of children through the $10-a-day childcare program.
In the province’s deal with the federal government, Ontario committed to a 30 per cent cap on for-profit childcare spaces, meaning most childcare providers would be non-profit.
Smith wrote that this cap has stifled the growth of $10-a-day child care and caused waitlists to grow long.
Over 140 organizations, however, wrote that eliminating the for-profit cap will not address the concerns raised by Smith.
“Nonprofit child care providers, which include Indigenous-led, Francophone, co-operatives, and those supporting children with disabilities, are ready and willing to work alongside the government to expand their services,” reads the open-letter to Todd Smith.
The real solution lies in better funding for all child care services, the letter states. The current funding formula has many service providers running at a deficit, it reads.
The cost of adequate workforce compensation, operation and expansion have all risen with inflation, the letter reads. However, the current funding formula encourages a lowest-common-denominator approach.
With this inadequate funding comes the underpaying of staff. The letter recommends Increased wages for early child care educators. It says that better wages would aid in attracting and retaining staff.
The letter calls on the provincial government to complement the child care investments made by the federal government. In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a proposal that would invest $1 billion in $10-a-day child care across the country.
The funding is being launched through the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC). In addition to $1 billion in loans, the CHMC is also offering $60 million in grants, allowing non profit child care providers to build new spaces and renovate their existing child care centers.
The open-letter to Todd Smith has garnered the support of many unions. The Ontario branch of CUPE, Canada’s largest public sector union, has signed the letter. The Ontario branch of Unifor, which is the country’s largest private sector union, has added their signature as well.
“With support, 70 per cent of the existing child care providers that are nonprofit and public are willing and able to expand,” the letter reads. “Now is the time to partner with some of the longest serving nonprofit child care providers in this province.”
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