“Catholic teachers welcome the announcement of a $10-a-day child care agreement in Ontario. We thank the federal government for taking the initiative and providing the funding necessary to realize a national child care program, and we are pleased that the provincial government has finally taken this important step to make child care more accessible and affordable in Ontario.

All families deserve access to affordable, high quality, and inclusive child care and early childhood education, which education experts agree leads to better learning outcomes.

The federal government’s establishment of a national early learning and child care system means parents will no longer have to choose between providing for their families and caring for their children – a burden which falls disproportionately on women, especially those in equity-deserving and Indigenous communities. Affordable early learning and care also means that children in families from socio-economically disadvantaged communities will now have equitable access to critical cognitive, emotional, and social development opportunities.

Ontario has some of the most expensive and inaccessible child care in Canada, a situation made worse by the Ford government’s decision to cut millions in child care funding, loosen child care regulations, and deny pandemic pay to child care workers.

It is unfortunate that a deal was not realized sooner, as the Ford government’s unnecessary delays and political posturing have cost Ontario families significantly, both financially and in terms of accessibility to care.

To ensure that the new child care system properly serves Ontario families, the Ford government must be held to account and must be transparent in how it spends the federal funds provided, as too often this government has misspent and failed to properly allocate federal monies intended to support families.”

- Barb Dobrowolski, President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association