But as the deadline approaches for childcare centers to join the scheme, the mother-of-two has learned her daycare may not take part. Her concerns will likely be shared by many other Toronto parents: about 660 of the city’s 1,042 licensed daycares have yet to opt into the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care program launched by the federal government. The deadline to do this this year is September 1st. Aguirre’s four-year-old daughter currently attends a licensed, for-profit center in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, and he had planned to enroll his youngest daughter there in January. “[Child care] it can be 40 percent of our income,” Aguirre told CBC News. “To have a huge cost like daycare fees go down, it would change my life and I’m sure a lot of families.” The six-year, $13.2-billion federal-provincial deal announced in March promised Ontario parents a 25 per cent cut in their fees for this year retroactive to April 1 and a further 25 per cent reduction starting next year. But Aguirre is now worried that she will lose the discount and the benefits of lower fees in the future. Her daycare has not yet opted into the new program, citing a lack of information necessary to make an informed decision. Bibian Aguirre says it would be devastating to say goodbye to her daughter’s daycare if she doesn’t participate in the government’s $10-a-day childcare program. (Submitted by Bibian Aguirre) “This is a bombshell,” Aguirre said. “My concern [is] that the deadline will come and things will not be done for daycare centers and for families.” As of Wednesday, 45 per cent of Toronto’s 729 licensed, not-for-profit childcare providers have opted in to the program, but only 17 per cent of the 313 licensed, for-profit ones have. Sixteen centers, not-for-profit and for-profit, have been excluded. More than 80 percent of child care providers in Ontario are eligible today, although some have only recently opened applications for the program. Many for-profit center owners say they are wary of joining the program because of uncertainty about how it will affect their bottom line. Another common concern raised by respondents was that the program gives governments too much power to dictate how daycare centers can operate.
Uncertainty about the final outcome, government control
Maggie Moser, director of the Ontario Association of Independent Child Care Centres, said her organization represents about 200 licensed, for-profit centers in Toronto – almost none of which have opted out just six weeks before the deadline. “Everything we’ve seen in writing tells us there will be no benefit and probably harm,” said Moser, who is also executive director of the Blossoming Minds Learning Center at The Danforth. “You can’t really ask people to do that with their business.” Maggie Moser, director of the Ontario Association of Independent Child Care Centers, runs a for-profit daycare center in Danforth. He said he has concerns about the federal $10-a-day program. (Submitted by Maggie Moser) The terms of the funding agreement are set out in the agreement and in a 74-page provincial addendum with general guidelines on how to implement it. Municipalities are responsible for registering centers in the new system, developing specific rules and distributing the cash to parents. Municipalities are expected to set “a reasonable level of profit” for for-profit providers, according to the province’s addendum. In it, the province notes that a “reasonable” profit surplus should be in line with the surplus that not-for-profit corporations see each year. Moser said it’s unclear from the current wording whether the for-profit centers will be able to cover all of their costs when they lose revenue from the parent-fee cut, since basic expenses such as loan and mortgage payments and property taxes are not covered by the deal . He also said the current wording gives too much power to city bureaucrats to determine what kinds of expenses are “reasonable” — and therefore eligible for reimbursement. “They’re not funding us, they’re defunding us,” he said. “They expect the owners of the centers to fund the returns if they don’t replace that income.” In a statement, a spokesman for provincial Education Minister Steven Lecce said the Ontario government fought hard during negotiations with Ottawa to preserve parental choice and achieve a longer period of guaranteed funding. (Ontario was the last of the provinces and territories to sign on, and its agreement spans six years instead of the standard five). “We have met with many nonprofits and fought for them every step of the way, and we will continue to support them in federal and local governments so that all parents can take advantage of these savings,” spokeswoman Grace Lee wrote. in an email. “We continue to work closely with the councils, who are responsible for running the scheme, to get money into parents’ pockets as quickly as possible.” Because if a large proportion of providers opt out, many parents will not have access to affordable, publicly funded places at a reduced price.
Securing rebates this year is a priority, the city says
Shanley McNamee, director general of children’s services for the City of Toronto, said there will be growing pains as the child care sector transitions from a market-driven to a publicly funded system. The city has held a series of engagement sessions and continues to field questions from child care agencies, McNamee said, adding that creating rules about how the money is spent is critical to ensuring accountability. McNamee also acknowledged uncertainty about the future as the province is still developing a funding model for 2023 and beyond in consultation with the industry, which aims to cover the “major cost components” of running a child care program. But he argued that the terms for 2022 are clear – operators who choose will receive funding to fully reimburse parents for 25 per cent of their fees between April and December. “The priority right now is really to make sure families who qualify for a rebate get some financial relief as soon as possible,” he said. “If they choose in future years to opt out or they’re not happy with the terms and conditions, then obviously they have the option to do that.” Aguirre, a mother of two, said she hopes the municipal and provincial governments are able to assuage her daycare’s concerns so she doesn’t have to look for a cheaper alternative for her daughters. “It’s a shame because we already know that the federal government has already transferred the money to the provinces, so it should just flow to the families,” Aguirre said. “The nursery is an important member of our community. It would be devastating to say goodbye.”
