Sign the open letter urging Ontario to prioritize not-for-profit child care
The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) has released an open letter urging Ontario’s Minister of Education to prioritize nonprofit child care providers over for-profit ones. The letter highlights the risks associated with expanding for-profit child care, citing failures in other regions.
ONN warns that expanding for-profit child care could divert public funding away from necessary investments in staff compensation and quality programs, ultimately leading to lower quality care and instability in the sector, as evidenced by failures in other jurisdictions like Australia, the UK, and Quebec.
Nonprofit child care providers, including Indigenous-led, Francophone, co-operatives, and those supporting children with disabilities, are viewed as more stable and better aligned with community needs. These providers, without shareholder profit motives, offer better compensation for educators, ensuring lower turnover rates and better quality standards.
ONN calls for an updated provincial funding formula that reflects the true cost of service provision, supports workforce compensation, and covers the costs of expansion, ensuring long-term stability.
The letter also emphasizes the need for increased wages for early childhood educators to attract and retain staff, proposing a wage grid starting at $30-$40 per hour for Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) and $25 per hour for non-RECE staff.
In addition, ONN suggests leveraging the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) child care expansion loan program and recommends various provincial initiatives to facilitate nonprofit expansion, such as financing through Infrastructure Ontario, backing loan guarantees by municipalities, and providing surplus land for child care centres.
The letter highlights that 70% of existing nonprofit and public child care providers are willing and able to expand, urging the government to partner with these providers to strengthen Ontario’s child care system rather than increasing for-profit participation.
The letter is endorsed by multiple organizations, including Child Care Now, underscoring the collective call for a high-quality, stable child care system that serves the diverse needs of Ontario families.
For more details and to add your organization’s endorsement, you can read the full letter here.