Liberal budget fails Ontario families desperate for child care: NDP

Today in the legislature, NDP Education critic, Lisa Gretzky, asked the Minister of Education why, in 2016, the Liberal government still does not have a child care policy. 

“As we know, the 2016 budget again squandered the Liberal government’s chance to be a leader on child care. Worst of all, its new child care regulations put our youngest children with much older children and fewer staff,” said Gretzky, MPP for Windsor West. “Apparently, this government believes that a 12-month-old child is a toddler. The Premier and her government are failing families in Ontario.” 

Gretzky said that parents in Ontario, particularly women, are being forced to suspend re-entering the workforce because they can’t find a child care space.

“Lists for subsidized care just keep getting longer.  Our most vulnerable families are struggling to ensure their children have access to quality, affordable child care,” said Gretzky.

Gretzky pointed out that the Liberal’s 2016 budget allocates no money for child care, while parents in Ontario continue to pay the highest child care costs in the country.

“So much for a Premier and a minister who promised to make child care a priority,” said Gretzky. “How long does it take to make a priority reality?”