Good News.
Federal Gov Just Gave Ontario $10.2 B For Childcare.
Let's Not Waste It.
Like many things in municipal government, we share the responsibility to fund and administer child care with the province. The province has also just received 10.2 billion as of March to spend on Childcare over 6 years from the federal government. Affordable childcare coverage is an incredibly important service for working class families when the housing crisis and other metrics of the cost of living are rising. It only makes sense to provide childcare, as your quality of care when your parents aren't around should not be an accident of birth, but a standard practice available to all.
This should be great news, as it should allow for a large expansion of public childcare programs and a huge increase of affordable childcare coverage across the province. I will be dedicated to making sure this money goes towards closing up child care deserts across Durham and providing low cost childcare where it is needed most. The challenge however, is largely in ensuring the province does its part, as I don't particularly trust our current provincial government to spend public money effectively. While I am not afraid to contribute municipal funding to the issue, the approximate $75 million/year of additional funding we should be receiving due to this deal is a huge part of being able to expand affordable service quickly.
Ultimately, service provision of childcare services has been downloaded to municipalities in Ontario, much like many other services the province didn't want to deal with or fund at one point or another. Unless the Province changes that, it will be up to municipalities to make sure any money we get is spent equitably across our region to increase both coverage—and affordability—of childcare, social housing, and many of our other currently underfunded municipal services in the Region. And Regardless of whether the province steps in or not, it is still up to us to form a funding plan that will expand coverage of affordable childcare regardless of if that 10.2 B gets squandered, even if it may be slower than with stimulus funding.
This should be great news, as it should allow for a large expansion of public childcare programs and a huge increase of affordable childcare coverage across the province. I will be dedicated to making sure this money goes towards closing up child care deserts across Durham and providing low cost childcare where it is needed most. The challenge however, is largely in ensuring the province does its part, as I don't particularly trust our current provincial government to spend public money effectively. While I am not afraid to contribute municipal funding to the issue, the approximate $75 million/year of additional funding we should be receiving due to this deal is a huge part of being able to expand affordable service quickly.
Ultimately, service provision of childcare services has been downloaded to municipalities in Ontario, much like many other services the province didn't want to deal with or fund at one point or another. Unless the Province changes that, it will be up to municipalities to make sure any money we get is spent equitably across our region to increase both coverage—and affordability—of childcare, social housing, and many of our other currently underfunded municipal services in the Region. And Regardless of whether the province steps in or not, it is still up to us to form a funding plan that will expand coverage of affordable childcare regardless of if that 10.2 B gets squandered, even if it may be slower than with stimulus funding.
-Interactive map of childcare deserts across Canada
Oshawa's coverage is:
Oshawa's coverage is:
- Oshawa Southeast + Rural North: 29%
- Oshawa North(a small slice of the northwest): 6%
- Oshawa Southwest: 24%
- Oshawa East 15%
*It is important to note that while all of these numbers are far too low, it is not a metric of childcare affordability, just coverage, we have a long way to go.
