Provincial News

• Provincial News
• August 02, 2016

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Ontario Ending Fees for Child Care Wait Lists

Province Introduces New Regulation to Ban Wait List Fees

Ontario has filed a regulation to end fees for child care wait lists to improve the accessibility of child care and make life easier for families. 

The ban will take effect September 1, 2016, and will prevent licensed child care centres and home child care agencies from charging fees or requiring deposits to join child care wait lists.

The regulatory amendments also require licensed child care providers to:

 

• Develop a public wait list policy that clearly explains how children on a wait list are offered admission. 
• Ensure wait list status is made available to families, in a manner that protects the confidentiality of their personal information.

 

The regulation was developed with feedback from public consultations and from the Ontario Regulatory website, with strong support for a ban on wait list fees from parents, child care providers and municipalities. The consultation period was open from May 17 to July 4, 2016.

Giving Ontario's children the best possible start in life is part of the government's economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario's history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement. 

 

Quick Facts

• Ontario is the first province in Canada to ban child care wait list fees.
• On May 16, 2016 Arthur Potts, MPP for Beaches – East York introduced a Private Member’s Bill in the Ontario legislature that would restrict licensees to charge non-refundable fees for child care wait lists.
• In August 2015 the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, was proclaimed to strengthen oversight of the province’s unlicensed child care sector and increase access to licensed child care options, including before and after school programs where there is sufficient demand.
• The province announced $120 million over three years in new funding in April 2015 dedicated to building more than 4,000 safe, high-quality, licensed child care spaces in schools across the province.
• Since 2003–04, the government has doubled child care funding to more than $1 billion annually, and the number of licensed child care spaces in Ontario has grown to nearly 351,000 – an increase of 87 per cent.
• Ontario is investing $269 million over three years to support a wage increase for early childhood educators and other child care professionals in licensed child care settings.