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Despite hundreds of new spaces created locally in recent years, long waits continue to exist for government-subsidized child-care spaces.
Whether this changes remains in the hands of federal and provincial officials during ongoing negotiations which are expected to end at some point next year.
As it stands, the wait for infant spaces is approximately 12-14 months, while the wait for toddler spaces is up to two years.
“I don’t foresee those wait lists going down,” city Children and Social Services director Miranda Mackie told Sudbury.com, noting the program relies on federal funding which filters through the province and finally to the municipality, which administers the programming.
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Mackie drew attention to these numbers during a presentation to city council members earlier this week in which she also highlighted the fact that everything is up in the air due to federal/provincial negotiations – a point she reiterated in a follow-up conversation with Sudbury.com.
The federal-provincial funding agreement was previously slated to expire in March, but was recently extended by a year. This will allow municipalities to maintain status-quo operations for the time being, with federal funding allowances afforded until Dec. 31, 2026.
The agreement is part of the federal government’s longstanding goal of bringing child care costs down to $10 per day, which they’ve yet to achieve in Ontario (hence the current $22/day rate).
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