LONDON – The YMCA has been ringing alarm bells at pre-budget hearings across the province, warning of imminent closures in child care centres if Ford and the Conservatives don’t step up to provide adequate resources. MPP Teresa Armstrong (London—Fanshawe), Official Opposition critic for Child Care, issued the following statement:
“Ford and the Conservatives are completely dropping the ball on child care in this province. We’re constantly hearing from child care workers who are burnt out and thinking of leaving the profession because of stagnant wages and brutal workloads. We’re hearing from operators like the YMCA who are struggling to keep up with outdated funding models that the Conservatives refuse to update. Families rely on affordable child care options, and we owe it to them to ensure it’s available.
We must ensure families have equitable options for child care, and the best way to do that is by instating a full cost recovery model that will bring us back in line with current rates of inflation. There’s no time to waste – we need to implement this solution now.
Ford and the Conservatives are completely out of touch with the current realities of child care costs, and we need them to wake up and get to work.”