Feds blame Ontario as some daycare centres pull out of national child care program

Families Minister Jenna Sudds said Monday some Ontario daycare centres have pulled out of the federal government's national early learning and child care program because the province hasn't stepped up with enough cash.

Asked about some daycares either rejecting or bailing out of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, Sudds said it's a "consequence, unfortunately, of a delay with respect to the province of Ontario coming forward with a sustainable and long-term funding formula for providers."

Sudds said the province is "responsible for fostering those relationships" so that providers have the money they need to "confidently continue to provide high-quality services."

Sudds made the comments at a stop in St. Thomas, Ont., where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $200 million in funding to create more child care spaces in a province where they're in short supply.

Toronto's Ola Daycare pulled out of the program earlier this year, citing costs that were above what the federal and provincial governments were offering in funding.

The result was an immediate doubling of fees paid by parents to about $1,400 a month.

Ola's monthly debt is growing "by a significant amount" and it had to pull out of the $10-a-day program and increase rates to match inflation or risk shutting down, the operator wrote in an email to parents obtained by the Canadian Press.

Tami Zuckerman, the operator of The Little Campus, a child-care centre in Toronto's west end, told The Trillium in March that she opted out of the program because staying in it would have bankrupted her.

"This is not about a money grab — it's more about surviving and making sure that I offer the same quality of care," she said.

While there are reports of some centres distancing themselves from Ottawa's program — which is designed to cut child-minding fees in half before getting to $10 a day eventually — Sudds said most daycares are on board with the program.

"The reality on the ground is almost 100 per cent of providers have been and are part" of the program, Sudds said when asked by reporters about some daycare centres rejecting the Liberal government's program.

But she said it is a "worry" when some providers pull out of the program or skip joining it entirely.

Asked about Sudds's comment, a spokesperson for Stephen Lecce, Ontario's education minister, pointed to remarks he made in the question period in April.

"We delivered a plan in partnership with all levels of government that has reduced fees by 50 per cent, saving $6 to $10,000 per child," Lecce said at the time, while also criticizing the previous provincial Liberal government for fee increases on its watch.