Re: Big-box child care buys Ontario centres, Dec. 13
Surely Ontario's children and families - especially those who struggle to survive on low wage jobs and income support - deserve the chance for a strong start. There's no evidence that investor-driven child-care corporations will deliver that.
In fact, there's strong evidence that commercial child care is much less likely to locate in neighbourhoods where low- and modest-income families live and highly unlikely to serve children with special needs.
From the experiences of our coalition partners - teachers, parents, housing providers, early childhood educators, faith communities, nurses, food banks and many others - kids are not-for-profit. We don't think that the TSX is the place where decisions about child care should be made.
Child care is a public asset that needs to be nurtured and grown so that all who need it can find it, can afford it and can keep it. It's the job of governments to take the lead on child care.
Laurel Rothman, Toronto
-reprinted from the Toronto Star