Ontario should live up to child care deal
TheStar.com – Opinion/Editorials
Oct. 7, 2022. By Star Editorial Board
The federal government must make clear that Ontario must live up to the child care deal it signed, in both detail and spirit.
Few Ontarians can feel as appallingly misled by Premier Doug Ford’s “Get it Done” campaign slogan than those banking on the promised $10-a-day national child care plan.
Far from demonstrating alacrity in joining a laudable federal initiative, the Ford government was the last jurisdiction in Canada to reach agreement with Ottawa on its $30-billion program.
The suspicion was that Ford delayed the move for political purposes in order to have a handy springboard with which to enter the 2022 election campaign.
With a report Sunday by the Star’s Rachel Mendleson and Brendan Kennedy, there’s good reason for concern about the province’s commitment to the program’s ideals.
The report said that after hiring a public relations firm, launching a website and encouraging parents to inundate government members with emails, a group of for-profit daycare owners met with Education Minister Stephen Lecce in August and received a sympathetic hearing for their argument that the $10-a-day child care plan would put them out of business.
“When we left the meeting, we genuinely felt that we would see changes coming” to the program for which Lecce is responsible in Ontario, a participant said.
And within months of pledging to partner with the federal government, the province was already stripping a series of checks on funding rules that guarded against “undue profits” and “ineligible expenditures” by operators.
Those changes threaten to compromise a program designed to transform the current market-based system plagued with soaring fees, long wait lists and uneven quality.
The Ford government’s machinations were enough to prompt a letter of concern from Karina Gould, the federal minister of families, children and social development, who oversees the national child care plan.
The usual squabble ensued, with Ottawa suggesting Ontario’s changes to the plan might not fulfil its promise to implement stringent cost controls. Lecce’s office insists “the core element of the cost control framework remains in place.”
The comments emanating in recent weeks from Health Minister Sylvia Jones, moreover, suggest an unsettling receptivity to privatization in that sector.
It’s dismaying to see the province already playing fast and loose with commitments made just months ago.
It’s equally disturbing to see how suggestible Ford and his ministers are when private operators get them behind closed doors.
“Having the ear of the present government can make significant change of policy in a very short period of time,” Sheila Olan-MacLean, CEO of a non-profit provider in Peterborough and a member of Lecce’s advisory group, told the Star.
The government changes to the funding guidelines “felt like a punch to the gut,” she said.
The province must ditch its penchant for secrecy and ensure that development of such a critical piece of social infrastructure is conducted in as transparent and accountable a manner as possible.
The federal government, meanwhile, must make clear that Ontario must live up to the deal it signed, in both detail and spirit.
“If Ottawa backs down this early, we will see public funding flow to the profits of private operators instead of creating good childcare for kids,” said Kerry McCuaig, a fellow in early child policy at the University of Toronto’s Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development.
The premier should make it clear where his priority lies.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2022/10/07/ontario-should-live-up-to-child-care-deal.html
Tags: budget, child care, featured, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, privatization
This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 at 11:01 am and is filed under Child & Family Policy Context. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
289 Responses to “Ontario should live up to child care deal”
« Older Comments | Newer Comments »
Leave a Reply
Recent Comments
I know this is not exactly on topic, but i have a blog using the blogengine platform as well and i’m having issues with my comments displaying. is there a setting i am forgetting? maybe you could help me out? thank you.
Great blog here! Additionally your website rather a lot up very fast! What host are you the usage of? Can I get your associate link for your host? I desire my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such info much. I was looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.
The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish.
Like the way you’ve outlined things. Easy to follow. Not cluttered.
What a great article.. i subscribed btw!
Appreciation for taking the time to discuss this topic, I would love to discover more on this topic. If viable, as you gain expertise, would you object to updating the website with further information? It is tremendously beneficial for me.
I’ve read several good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you put to make such a magnificent informative site.
That is really fascinating, You’re an excessively skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to in the hunt for extra of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!
Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed! Very useful info specifically the last part 🙂 I care for such info much. I was looking for this certain information for a very long time. Thank you and good luck.
Good points – – it will make a difference with my parents.
Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you made blogging look easy. The overall look of your site is great, as well as the content!
When we look at these issues, we know that they are the key ones for our time.
Its wonderful as your other blog posts : D, regards for putting up.
fantastic post, very informative. I wonder why more of the ther experts in the field do not break it down like this. You should continue your writing. I am confident, you have a great readers’ base already!
Regards for helping out, superb info.
With this issue, it’s important to have someone like you with something to say that really matters.
Good post. I study something more difficult on different blogs everyday. It’s going to always be stimulating to learn content material from other writers and observe a little bit one thing from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content material on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
You need to really control the comments listed here
I was referred to this web site by my cousin. I’m not sure who has written this post, but you’ve really identified my problem. You’re wonderful! Thanks!