Hoping for $10-a-day child care? Here’s how many Toronto daycares opted in to the federal program over the last three years
A year ago, after the federal government launched what became known as the “Canada Without Poverty” program, a daycare in Toronto was desperate for the money to keep afloat.
On its website, the Toronto Daycare Society said that it had just two days left before it had to start paying back the government, a whopping $14,700.
Over the last three years, the daycare has raised close to $100,000, paying back the government in full.
Since the program launched in January, more than 40 daycares have opted-in, said Laura Langille, a director at the agency that oversees the program, which she calls the Canadian Child Care Benefit Rebate Program.
“We had a lot of people who called us from across the country,” she said. “People are like, ‘I’m starting a little child care, but when it gets bigger I can’t afford it.’ “
In some cases, the daycares in question did not have the means to pay the government back. In others, they were able to, but only if they chose to.
If there was any doubt in the minds of daycaring parents who want to pay back the government, those doubts were dispelled last week when Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced the government would introduce a new federal repayment plan.
If the daycare is unable to collect $50,000 from the program, the government will start to collect $25,000 a year. At $50,000, daycare enrolments in the program are projected to hit 1,000 this year and increase to 6,000 by 2022.
As part of the program, the government will also make financial assistance available to daycaring parents