“Keep the promise!” — Ontario child care community urges Ford and Carney to fully fund $10aDay child care, as extension deal stalls progress on fee reductions [1]
Excerpt
Parents, educators, and child care advocates across Ontario are calling on Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Mark Carney to keep their promise and fully fund $10aDay child care. Their call comes after news that the new one-year extension to the Canada–Ontario Early Learning and Child Care Agreement will stall further fee reductions for families.
While advocates initially welcomed confirmation that the existing deal won’t expire in March 2026, that relief quickly turned to frustration when it became clear the new agreement would freeze parent fee reductions at the current average of $19 per day and a cap of $22—falling short of both governments’ promise to achieve an average of $10aDay by 2026.
“We need both the Ontario and federal governments to keep their promise to families,” said Carolyn Ferns of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care. “This one-year extension cannot mark the start of backtracking on $10aDay. It must be the first step toward a stronger agreement, in which both governments step up to fully fund the high-quality, affordable child care system that Ontario families deserve.”
With families already struggling under rising costs, many parents are expressing disappointment that governments appear to be scaling back on a key affordability measure.
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