Excerpts

Thousands of children across northern Ontario remain stuck on child care waitlists, even as licensed, funded spaces sit empty. That's because there aren’t enough early childhood educators to staff them, according to service managers and childcare operators across the region.

And in some cases, child care program funding is being returned to the province.

In the Cochrane District, which includes Timmins and other communities, officials say staffing shortages are leaving more than a third of licensed childcare capacity unused.

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Funding available, but no one to hire

While the district of Cochrane does not operate a centralized waitlist—meaning parents may be listed at multiple centres in the area—long waits are a common issue across northern Ontario.

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More than 'babysitting'

Costello underscored that early childhood educators work in licensed childcare centres, nursery schools, before- and after-school programs, and other early learning settings, supporting children’s development before they enter the school system.

She said despite what people may think about the difficulty of the profession, educators are responsible for more than supervision, helping children to develop foundational skills such as language, motor development, and emotional regulation.

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