The Ontario election is scheduled for June 12th, 2014. CRRU has selected materials from the political parties, NGOs and news media to explain how ECEC is positioned in this election campaign. We will continue to update this page as new developments occur. Materials are listed from the most recent to the least recent.
NGO POSITIONS
- Education in the 2014 Ontario election. People for Education, 4 June 14
- Takling poverty in Ontario: Where do the parties stand? (link no longer available) Campaign 2000 and the 25in5 Network for Poverty Reduction, 10 June 14
- Video: We can't trust Tim Hudak. Esery Mondesir's video - "As a father, the Conservatives' plan for the next generation in Ontario scares me."
- Press release and letter to party leaders: Who'll make the grade on child care? Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, Canadian Union of Public Employees (Ontario), Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Childcare Resource and Research Unit, Advocates for Progressive Childcare Policy, 20 May 14
- Press release: Commit to expand access to affordable, licensed child care, or you don't get my vote, moms tell party leaders, Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Advocates for Progressive Child Care Policy, 9 May 14
- Child care's rough ride, Martha Friendly, Child Care Canada Now blog, 9 May 14
PARTY PLATFORMS AND POSITIONS ON ECEC
Progressive Conservative Party
- Ontario Progressive Conservative platform in PDF, 14 May 14 [The platform does not mention the words early childhood education or child care.]
- PC Leader Tim Hudak told CTV News, "If we want better child care, we need more people working. I'm not the leader to promise more and more spending. There's no compassion in borrowing money on your credit card and handing it to you."
- According to CBC News, the PC's have proposed to: increase the ratio for full-day kindergarten to one teacher for every 20 students from the current ratio of two teachers per 26 students; eliminate proposed raises for early childhood educators; cut 9,700 non-teaching positions in schools - on top of the 100,000 public sector jobs.
Liberal Party
- Ontario Liberal platform. [Details of child care commitments are included in the section "Building the next generation of education and child care"]
"We will: complete the roll-out of Full-Day Kindergarten by September 2014; invest to protect child care spaces and subsidies; provide wage increases to child care workers outside the public school system." - Liberal platform
- Premier Kathleen Wynne told CTV News, "We have put forward a Child Care Modernization plan. It's in the process right now. If re-elected we will re-introduce that plan. I know that the folks that are talking about child care today have some concerns about those regulations. We have been open to and will continue to work with them."
- Press release: Giving our children the best possible start,(link no longer available) 14 May 14
New Democratic Party
"Invest in safe and affordable childcare spaces: We will provide critical relief funding to help child care providers and parents in our first year in government. Our plan will also provide ongoing funding to prevent the closure of child care centres in 18 communities." (NDP platform, pg. 4)
- Press release: New Democrats stand up for families by protecting affordable child care, 11 May 14
- NDP leader Andrea Horwath told CTV News, ""It was New Democrats that put $250 million into the...not the last budget but the first budget with Mr. Duncan and Mr. McGuinty to try to shore up the child care services in this province that were being, frankly, depleted by the government's own initiatives."
Green Party of Ontario
- Party platform in PDF (link no longer available) [The platform does not mention the words early childhood education or child care.]
MEDIA
Editorials and commentary
- Tim Hudak's education plan threatens Ontario's economic future, Charles Pascal, Toronto Star, 20 May 14
- Why I can't vote for Tim Hudak, Tasha Kheiriddin, National Post, 20 May 14
- Hudak's plan for education doesn't add up, James Gordon, Ottawa Citizen, 15 May 14
- Ontario needs a good child care strategy, Editorial, Toronto Star, 13 May 14
- Can Tim Hudak win election by 100,000 job cuts? Editorial, Globe and Mail, 12 May 14
News coverage
- Ontario teachers call Tim Hudak's education plans 'dangerous', Metro News, 14 May 14
- PC platform includes larger class sizes, cancels teacher pay hikes, CBC News, 14 May 14
- NDP child care pledge welcome but not enough, advocate says, CBC News, 12 May 14
- New Democrats promise one-time $100M cash injection for child care, Canadian Press, 11 May 14
- Parents need child care to work, party leaders told, Toronto Star, 9 May 14
- Ontario leaders address daycare issues, CTV News, 9 May 14
PUBLIC EDUCATION MATERIALS
- Election materials, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
- Election fact sheet: Child care, Toronto Social Planning, 12 May 14
- Women's issues fact sheets: Women need child care, Ontario Federation of Labour, 7 May 14