![Ontario now alone in not signing federal child-care deal and that's 'outrageous,' Liberal leader says](https://i.cbc.ca/1.6231118.1642640850!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/daycare.jpg)
Ontario now alone in not signing federal child-care deal and that's 'outrageous,' Liberal leader says
CBC
Ontario opposition party leaders say it's "outrageous" that the Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada not to sign onto the federal government's $10-a-day child-care program, now that Nunavut has struck a deal.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca said if he is elected in the June provincial election, he will make it happen. Del Duca said Ontario Premier Doug Ford needs to sign the deal urgently.
"I think it's outrageous that here in Ontario we see that Doug Ford stubbornly refuses to get a deal done with the federal government to deliver a universal licensed $10-a-day child care system for Ontario's families," Del Duca said.
He said it's "brutal" that Ford "doesn't want to give our youngest the very best start in life apparently and brutal that he doesn't want to give hard-working Ontario families a much needed cost of living break.
"It's just deeply, deeply discouraging that he is just completely missing in action on this."
Del Duca made the statements after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $66-million child-care deal over five years Monday with Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok.
"This funding will bolster Nunavut's sector and provide a significant investment in our children and our families," Akeeagok said.
Trudeau said the agreement means Nunavut's daycare fees will be cut in half by the end of this year and will be $10 a day by March 2024. He said the estimated savings for families in Iqaluit, the Nunavut capital, will be about $14,000 a year.
The deal is part of the Liberal government's promise to spend $30 billion over five years to realize a national child-care program and cut fees to $10 a day over five years.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and and NDP child-care critic Bhutila Karpoche said in a statement on Monday that Ford is costing working families hundreds of dollars monthly by refusing to sign onto the deal.
"Families in Ontario continue to be crushed by Ontario's massive child-care fees. The price of everything continues to climb, and parents in Ontario are forced to pay our province's staggering, mortgage-level fees," they said. "Doug Ford's refusal to make parents and young families a priority means that parents are paying $2,000 a month or more in fees while families in every other jurisdiction in the country are paying as low as $10-a-day," they continued.
"Ford is not here for working parents, and they're paying the price for that, literally."
Trudeau said Ottawa has been ready to sign a deal with Ontario for "many, many months now" and is still optimistic an agreement can be reached.
"We're all just waiting on the government of Ontario."