Ontario municipalities have been forced to turn down thousands of child-care spaces in the $10-a-day system because of a limit on the percentage of for-profit spaces in the province's deal with the federal government, the provincial government says.
The province has so far created less than a third of the new spaces it committed to by 2026 and Ontario Education Minister Todd Smith and the association representing the province's municipalities have sent a letter to federal Minister Jenna Sudds, asking her to lift the cap on for-profit spaces.
"While Ontario recognizes the important role that not-for-profit providers play in the child care system, these operators cannot fill the capacity alone," Smith and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario wrote.