85 per cent of Simcoe County's child care providers opt-in to $10/day program
Child care providers across Ontario have until the end of the day to opt-in for the national $10-a-day program.
According to Simcoe County, 85 per cent of its more than 200 child care providers have submitted applications for the program.
"We know how important this is for parents and what kind of help that will give them in their household financially," said Kim Yeaman, director of Simcoe Childcare Services.
The province extended the deadline from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1 to allow operators more time to sign up.
For Yeaman, that meant deciding to submit an application. For parents like Michelle Maldonado, it means a 25 per cent reduction in fees retroactive to April 1.
By the end of the year, fees are set to reduce by an average of 50 per cent, with a goal of $10 per day by 2025.
"When it comes through, it will make a huge difference for us on our monthly budget," said Maldonado.
RELATED
- Child care operators concerned about opting-in to Ontario's $10-a-day program
- Child care deal raises concerns for centre operators hesitant to opt-in
But there is still a sense of uncertainty around Ontario's rollout, with funding guidelines for 2024 yet to be released.
Operators like Yeaman express concerns over future rising costs and inflation.
"March 2020, when COVID started, our fees were frozen, and they were frozen for a long time," said Yeaman. "During COVID, we received an enormous amount of support from all levels of government, so we never raised our fees. Now we are expected to run our child cares and be financially responsible with October 2022 expenses which everybody knows is much higher than it used to be."
Although there is no guarantee, the County said there is a process in place to work through those details.
"We recognize the cost of care is not declining or remaining static, so they do need to reach out to us to go through the process so that we can review what the additional costs are and provide the funding to cover all the reasonable expenses," said Samantha Zuercher, Simcoe County's early learning and child care manager.
Those negotiations, Yeaman said, still need to happen before she makes her final decision.
"I do not want to lessen the quality of my program, the quality of my food, the quality of what we do here too, so that funding really has to cover those expenses," said Yeaman. "I can't run a child care at a loss and still survive."
The County said there is still an approval process for providers who submitted an application.
"Within a certain period of time, we will get back to them to confirm if they are eligible or not and within an additional period of time, at most, it would be 30 days to confirm what their funding is and to provide them with a funding agreement," said Zuercher.
Providers who don't opt-in by the deadline can choose to do so next year, and those who do opt-in can opt-out at any time.
Ontario was the last province to ink a deal with Ottawa as part of its $30 billion national child care program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.