Childcarepolicy.net

What’s the position of the federal government on for-profit child care?The fall economic statement and the federal budget made things pretty clear.  The Quebec model based on not-for-profit Early Childhood Centres (CPEs) is the model to follow.  The 2021 Budget provides $30 Billion over 5 years for the building of a “Canada-wide, community-based system of quality child care.” (p. 101).  A community-based system means publicly-planned and publicly-regulated not-for-profit and public services.  The budget compares this to public health care and the public school system: “Just as public school provides children with quality education in their neighbourhoods, the government’s goal is …

Continue reading “FAQ: WHAT’S WRONG WITH FOR-PROFIT CHILD CARE?”

I participated recently in the webinar at which you spoke, sponsored by the Toronto Star, First Policy Response, the Lawson Foundation and others.  The topic was “Delivering on the Commitment: A Canada-Wide Childcare Plan”.    I often disagree with your policy positions in relation to child care, but I think it is important in any debate that we can agree on facts before opinion takes over.  So, if you will permit me, let me correct a couple of things that you said at that webinar.  First, the Government of Ontario did not get rid of the Child Care Expense Deduction in Ontario.  It still …

Continue reading “An Open Letter to Ken Boessenkool about the Child Care Expense Deduction (and other things)”

The federal budget puts forward very substantial amounts of money for early learning and child care – $30 Billion over 5 years, or more importantly $8.3 Billion of new federal money in perpetuity from 2025-26 onwards.  The federal template calls for a cut of 50% in parent fees by the end of 2022, and an average fee of $10 a day for children 0-5 years of age across Canada (outside Quebec) by 2025-26.  How much more child care capacity will Ontario need?  It’s an important question.  Ontario will need to plan a very rapid expansion of capacity, but do it …

Continue reading “How Big Will the Expansion of Child Care Services Need to be in Ontario?”

Andrew Coyne knows very little about child care, but feels free to pontificate about it.  It’s a shame, because some people still listen to him and believe he has done his homework.  He hasn’t.  And so, he concludes that the federal government should help parents, especially low-income ones, by giving them a direct subsidy – money.  There are more than a few problems with his opinion piece in the Globe and Mail.  Apparently, Andrew doesn’t realize that we already have a direct payment to parents, similar to the one he is calling for and geared to income, called the Canada …

Continue reading “Why Andrew Coyne is Wrong About Child Care Funding”

Great News for Supporters of a National Child Care System Cardus must really be kicking themselves.  Cardus is a Christian research and advocacy organization that spent a lot of money on that recent Angus Reid poll on attitudes to a national child care program.  I’m sure they expected to hear a lot of support for their view that governments should just give money to parents with children.  Cardus opposes building a child care system that is universally available to families.  And they believe that Canadian families support their point of view. Imagine their surprise then when Angus Reid found that …

Continue reading “The new Angus Reid poll on child care”

Here’s a link to my recent article in The Conversation Canada explaining what’s wrong with Doug Ford’s tax credit plan.

Doug Ford’s promised in the last election to deliver child care affordability for a small amount of money ($389 million per year) for all children in Ontario 0-14 years of age. That’s a total of 2.2 million children. In other words, Doug Ford thinks he can make child care affordable for a price of less than $180.00 per child per year. On the face of it, this cannot possibly be true.