Child Care in Crisis

Take Action to End Toronto’s Child Care Crisis

There is no economic recovery without affordable child care. Yet, 133 child care centres in Ontario and 27 in Toronto have closed during the pandemic. Without increased funding from the City, Province and Federal Government, many non-profit child care centres are in jeopardy of closing permanently. Thousands of families - particularly racialized women - won’t be able to access child care and will fall further behind.

City Council will be voting soon on its 2021 budget priorities. The City needs to fight for child care by ensuring funding is made available now! Send a message to your elected officials below.

  

Women have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19

Women’s participation in the workforce is at historic lows -  impacted heavily by job loss and underemployment due to COVID-19. If the child care system collapses, it will lead to severe economic consequences and this crisis will  mostly affect racialized, immigrant, feminized and precarious workers who are unable to return to work. With Canadian women typically contributing about 40 percent of household income, there is no recovery without child care.

All levels of government have said it is essential to ensure that a safe, sufficient and adequate supply of child care is available to support the gradual return to work of parents - in particular, working mothers and feminized care givers.

But child care providers have had to reduce their capacity due to physical distancing measures, impacting their financial ability to stay open. Child care spaces are already extremely scarce in Toronto. If more centres close, there will be a severe shortage of spaces for kids to return to and more families will be forced to choose unsafe places to send their children. Coupled with a growing waitlist for subsidies, many will be forced to drop out of the workforce completely. 

Toronto’s unaffordable child care system is a barrier to recovery

Since 2020, Toronto’s waitlist for child care subsidies ballooned to 23,155 children, an increase of 48.41% from the previous year.

Without sustained funding from other levels of government, the City will not reach its target of having accessible child care spaces for 40% of children by 2026. As fewer parents will be able to access child care, the gap between the haves and have-nots will continue to grow at increasingly high rates.

We need bold action on child care - it’s been done before

In September, the Federal government announced the creation of a national child care strategy in response to the fact that women have been disproportionately impacted by job loss due to COVID-19. We need funding commitments now, and for the federal and provincial governments to step up and help stabilize and grow Toronto’s child care sector.

Now is the time to be bold and courageous. It’s been done before. During the first wave, Ontario opened up 50,000 24 hour free child care spaces for essential workers. Decisive action was taken. It must be done again. 

Toronto is Canada’s economic engine. There will be no economic recovery without safe and affordable child care for our city. Send your message below:

Child care in Toronto needs urgent financial support

Our city faces many challenges, and the 2021 budget is a unique opportunity to tackle them as part of the pandemic rebuild. 

Together with Toronto Community for Better Child Care and Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, we call on the City to:

  • Advocate fiercely for more funding from other levels of government to protect child care spaces from closing and invest in the future of child care;

  • Make child care more accessible, affordable for families; 

  • Fund child care to reach its target of having accessible child care spaces for 40% of children by 2026;

  • Provide livable wages and decent working conditions for Early Childhood Educators and child care workers.

If the Mayor and Councillors and all levels of government hear from thousands of Torontonians demanding that they fight for affordable, safe, quality child care, we will be closer to a just recovery for all.