QUEEN'S PARK — The Ontario NDP's critic for Child Care Bhutila Karpoche released the following statement on today's National Day of Action for Early Learning and Child Care:
Statement on the National Day of Action for Early Learning and Child Care
"As we mark the National Day of Action for Early Learning and Child Care, the Ontario NDP stands in solidarity with Child Care Now and the many parents, advocates, child care workers and educators who have spent years fighting tirelessly for a system of quality, affordable child care that's accessible to all — your voices and your advocacy matter deeply.
In Ontario, many families struggle to afford child care fees that are the highest in the country. Many are forced to choose between child care and other necessities. The pandemic has made things harder than ever for working parents, and women especially; many have struggled to look after little ones while juggling full-time work both in the home and outside of it, as the Ford government failed to provide urgently-needed funds to stabilize the struggling child care sector and ensure centres had the staff and resources to reopen safely.
Throughout the pandemic, we've seen many centres forced to hike their fees or permanently close their doors, due to chronic underfunding by successive provincial governments.
Longstanding neglect for the sector by Liberal and Conservative governments have meant child care workers and educators are underpaid and understaffed, many choosing to leave the field altogether.
Doug Ford continues to drag his feet, refusing to sign a deal with the federal government to give parents the $10-per-day child care they deserve.
Ontarians desperately need a government that prioritizes child care and the needs of families. On behalf of the Ontario NDP, I want to re-pledge our commitment to working with the federal government to bring in a universal system of high-quality public and not-for-profit child care that costs families $10 per day."
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