On March 28, 2022 the Ontario government announced an agreement with the federal government to deliver affordable, inclusive, and high-quality childcare for families in Ontario (see:https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/03/28/10-day-child-carefamilies-ontario).
– SAWIS Leader
As of April 1, 2022, families with children five years old and younger in participating licensed child care centres, including licensed home care, will see fees reduced up to 25 per cent to a minimum of $12 per day. Rebates, retroactive to April 1, will be issued automatically starting in May. The rebate is in place to account for child-care operators that may need extra time to readjust their fees. In December 2022, fees will be reduced further to about 50 per cent on average, with a final reduction in September 2025 with a slashed rate of of $10 per day.
With this deal, all of Canada is now included in a deal that will lower childcare fees. For many years, immigrant women living in the East-Danforth neighbourhoods have been speaking out about the lack of access to quality and affordable childcare, which has been and continues to be a significant barrier for womenin Canada. SAWRO/SAWIS has been advocating for universal and affordable childcare that is inclusive of low-income and precariously employed caregivers from marginalize communities.
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Within the context of decades of inaction, this is certainly an important step forward. We welcome the new reforms to childcare. It is finally time for all levels of governments recognize the public responsibility to support all mothers, and caregivers, and their children by setting a public and national standard for childcare.
At the same time, we see that the needs of low-income and precariously employed immigrant women, who are the backbone of our economy, for universal and fullysubsidized childcare are once again tabled.
Since 2008, South Asian Women’s and Immigrants’ Services (SAWIS) has been organizing and advocating for the rights of marginalized communities, especially in the East Danforth neighborhoods, which sees a high concentration of low-income precariously employed racialized women. To better understand community women’s perspective on this announcement, SAWIS organized consultations with them. We found that women feel that their access to childcare is very limited and that the reform agenda’s focus on the middle class is unlikely to result in equitable access for vulnerable groups.
A primary concern was the affordable and inclusive nature of the new deal – although the new deal is set to reduce household’s childcare cost by at least 50%, it does not take into account the realities of low and unstable income. Many low-income families working in the precarious sector will be unable to pay upfront for childcare on a monthly basis, which thereby excludes them from the tax rebate.
– Sultana Jahangir, Executive Director,
SAWIS
Women also expressed concern about the availability and quality of the new childcare spaces that is being proposed under this deal. Our communities have and continue to face significant challenges in accessing quality and licensed childcare centers. This issue was exacerbated during COVID-19 which resulted in many women having to step back from employment or relying on relatives/neighbours for childcare support.
Women referred to the Ontario government’s decision in 2018 to relax regulations on homebased childcare settings and the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and availability of PPE for staff, all of which impacts the quality of services and safety of staff, children, and their families. As a participant stated, “if the government allows or creates more low-quality basement childcare services, will the $10 a day be worth it?”
This issue goes hand-in-hand with concerns about workplace practices at childcare centers, centering around the issue of exploitation of childcare workers through for-profit staffing agencies. Precarious employed women in feminized sectors like childcare centers working as part-time, contract, or temporary workers through staffing agencies also raised the issue of misclassification, workplace discrimination, and irregular schedules and lack of notice for shifts. This uberization of work disproportionately affects racialized women with double burden of work and household responsibilities primarily falling on them.
Therefore, SAWIS along with community members and leaders urge the government to deliver on the long-promised national universal childcare/early learning system and demand a revision of low-income childcare subsidy eligibility criteria to accommodate precariously employed parents. We also ask that the government recognize the needs of caregivers working irregular hours, end diversion of low income childcare subsidies to home child care services and do away with staffing of childcare centres through Temporary Health Agencies.
