How intense pressure from for-profit daycares has transformed Ontario’s rollout of $10-a-day child care — and sparked a political standoff
A decade ago, a single for-profit daycare was found to be operating without a licence to operate, requiring it to close its doors.
But by the time the province issued its findings last March, seven such operations across the province were operating illegally.
The for-profit daycares are not required to have a licence or register with the province’s child-care ombudsman. They were found to have operated without child-care workers, or teachers, trained or licensed in the industry.
But the government launched the investigation — and forced all of them to close.
The fallout has been devastating for parents in particular, who lose their chance to bring up their children with an experienced, certified, professional child care provider.
The closures have also been a political scandal, dividing the governing Liberals on their own turf and prompting a fight with the opposition Progressive Conservatives.
On Friday, Premier Kathleen Wynne addressed the problem head-on in a speech to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Wynne said she believes the government made the right decision to shut down all the daycares, describing them as “problematic.” In a recent poll by Nanos Research, 64 per cent of Ontarians opposed the daycares, while 28 per cent were in favour.
“Our top priority was to protect children by shutting down the abusive and neglectful daycares,” Wynne said. “I am not happy with the decision we made, but it is the right decision.”
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