Three years ago, the launch of a new national day-care program raised high expectations among Canadian families, but new figures show Ottawa will aim to provide affordable housing to “every family in need” by 2026. This shows that we are still far from achieving our goal of providing space.
Despite having a $30 billion budget over five years, the federal child care program is suffering from a lack of funding, according to analysts, officials and the Ontario government.
They warn that without additional investment, Ottawa’s plan to create 250,000 new locations at an average cost of $10 a day by the end of March 2026 may become unfeasible. .
The program has created child care spaces for 97,000 children since 2021, according to the latest numbers obtained by Radio-Canada. This represents just under 40% of the overall target.
The federal government has just over two years left to create an additional 153,000 spaces in every province except Quebec, which already has a similar system in place, reducing the average cost to $10 a day. I am.
Experts say labor shortages and high inflation are making it difficult to reach the goal.
The national child care program was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party’s centerpiece promise in the 2021 election. Political analysts predict their performance in this area will be a key issue with the Conservatives in the next federal election campaign.
Although the program is federally funded, each province and territory has adopted different strategies to fulfill their agreements with Ottawa. Some smaller provinces such as Newfoundland, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have already opened $10-a-day spaces, while others such as Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have succeeded in reducing the amount by half.
Experts who have studied the Quebec model said the Liberal government’s project is particularly complicated because it relies on cooperation from provinces and territories.
“In my opinion… it would take at least 10 years to build such a vast network across Canada, especially given the trust we are facing,” said Nathalie Bigras, an early childhood education expert at the University of Quebec. “Considering the severe labor shortage,” he said. Montreal.
Some government officials agree the program faces headwinds.
Federal Minister for Families Jenna Suds said: “This is a huge undertaking…Rome was not built overnight and I think this is a process. Difficult things are difficult and this is one of them.” said.
“There are definitely challenges, but I think there are positives and values that we were able to achieve.” [with the provinces] We really won in that regard. ”
No more money coming from Ottawa: Minister
She said Ottawa has no intention of changing its 2021 commitments and insisted the government is “on track” to meet its commitments. He also rejected state requests for additional funding, arguing that each state must contribute its own funds to ensure the program’s success.
“No new funding is coming. Unfortunately, it’s a hard no at this point,” Suds said, adding that federal transfers are already scheduled to increase each year through separate federal-provincial child care agreements. .
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he will continue to push Ottawa to put more money into the program, warning that the program’s original goals and objectives are at risk.
“Without additional funding from the federal government, waiting lists could get even longer and more facilities could close.” [child-care] “This is antithetical to the program’s mission of affordability and access,” he said.
The Ontario government said it cannot reveal how many of the 41,000 spaces opened in the province since 2019 are subsidized under the national day care program.
There are significant savings for parents who have access to this program.
Parents who send their children to private childcare centers in Ontario can save more than $10,000 a year because the subsidy covers half of childcare costs and has no cap.
But thousands of other parents across the state are still unable to find a subsidized place for their children.
“It’s frustrating,” said Amaryllis Paquet, an Ottawa mother of a 14-month-old who has been on the waiting list since her pregnancy. She said, “She tried so hard, but in the end, she couldn’t do anything.”
Her daughter currently attends a private, unlicensed, unsubsidized daycare center. Although she is pregnant with her second child, she doesn’t know if she will be able to continue her job without the subsidy, she said.
“I’m not sure if I want to pay more than $1,600 for daycare.” [per month] Or are you going to stay home?” she said.
Sylvie Tourigny, who has more than 30 years of experience in the child care field, said she has seen a huge spike in demand for child care spaces in response to new federal programs.
As executive director of the Ottawa-based not-for-profit child care provider, she oversees approximately 1,600 spaces in child care centers and family facilities. She said her service receives calls every day from “very desperate” parents seeking subsidized child care.
“Before, there were sometimes empty spaces. Now… families leave on Friday, and on Monday another family is already ready for child care,” she said. “Demand is very high.”
Many experts feel that the creation of the program has increased the demand for subsidized child care. Statistics Canada reports that demand for child care spaces is increasing, with the proportion of parents on waiting lists expected to reach nearly 26 per cent in 2023, up from 19 per cent in 2022.
Maggie Moser, a Toronto private day care owner, said the program creates too much bureaucracy for Ontario child care providers and provides little incentive to expand services or open new centres. Stated.
She said the state has frozen fees at 2022 levels and is struggling to cover costs. Moser said she has warned the parents of the 200 children in the daycare center that they will be withdrawn from the program this fall.
Ontario is expected to announce a new funding formula for the program in the coming months, but many child care providers are now concerned about their financial sustainability.
“The goal is to run a nationwide universal child care program at a cost of $10 a day, pay staff a fair wage, pay people to build centers, and cover the costs of creating all the space needed. If it’s going to be a burden, then definitely not. The program needs to be well-funded,” said Moser, director of the Ontario Association of Independent Child Care Centers.
The YMCA, a nonprofit organization that provides about 20 per cent of Ontario’s child care spaces, said earlier this year that the situation was “unsustainable.”
“Unfortunately, while cost savings are being provided to families, the cost burden for operators like the YMCA is increasing,” the charity told the Ontario government in January. .
The YMCA warns that without changes, “many child care programs are at risk of closing at a time when they should be expanding.”
Economist says childcare expansion is in crisis
David MacDonald, a public policy expert who has studied child care programs, said the main problem is affecting the largest provinces outside Quebec: Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta.
“Expansion is a core part of this plan, and if we don’t do that, we won’t be able to reap all the benefits,” said Macdonald, an economist at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. “At this time, it appears that we do not have sufficient funds to increase salaries and create new space, so we may need to reconsider funding this program.”
Pierre Poièvre’s Conservative Party voted in favor of the law that created the program, but if it comes to power at the next election it will be required to end what it calls a “chaos” in childcare. To beat, we are promising changes.
The aim is to “ensure states and parents have the choice and flexibility they need” to improve childcare services, a Conservative Party spokesperson said.
Suds said thousands of families have already benefited from the program, and thousands more will soon join their ranks.
“It’s not disruption, it’s progress,” she said. “As we look to the next election, it’s scary to think that the Conservatives could undo all this progress we’ve made since 2021.”
Political scientist Stephanie Chouinard said child care could become a “key political issue” in the Greater Toronto Area, a key election battleground.
The Kingston Royal Military College professor said the Liberals had to defend their record, while the Conservatives needed to offer a credible and reasonable alternative to the federal government’s plan.
“There is currently a lot of dissatisfaction among families who are not benefiting from this increase in affordable childcare spaces. However, it is unclear at this point whether the Conservative Government wants to continue funding for children. “There is also a risk for the government and opposition parties because it is not possible to provide care space at a low cost,” Chouinard said.
