Ontario families can now access subsidized child-care programs across municipal boundaries, making it easier for parents who want cultural or faith-based programs for their children, the provincial government announced June 30.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce, accompanied by several MPPs including Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, made the announcement on the eve of Canada Day, at the Ledbury Jewish Centre in midtown Toronto.
Lecce said he was compelled by the fact that child-care subsidies didn’t necessarily follow a child.
A child from Richmond Hill would not be able to receive the same subsidy at a Toronto daycare, for example.
“One of the great challenges that really rose to members of our government is that often governments create systems for bureaucracies, not for clients, not for families, and certainly not for the end user, the child,” said Lecce. “We are going to allow portability in subsidies, we are going to give incentives to parents to choose the right child care for their family.”
In 2022, the most recent year for which there is data available, approximately 113,000 children in Ontario received fee subsidies, according to the ministry. About 26 percent of children in licensed child-care centres received a subsidy, as did 51 percent of children in licensed home child-care.
Lecce thanked Rabbi Yoseph Y. Zaltzman, senior rabbi and founder of the Jewish Russian Community Centre of Ontario, and the Jewish community for raising the issue.
Kerzner said the red tape was an impediment for Ontario families.
“Faith-based child care that is accessible, that is equitable, is good for Ontario,” said Kerzner. “It helps keep our families intact in the way that they practice their faith and maintain their culture.”
Thornhill MPP Laura Smith said that as a former vice-president of a nursery school, she recognized the importance of early-year learning experiences in a child’s foundation and its ripples as the child grows.
Smith said every parent wants the best options available for “child care in the location that fits their needs, including culture and faith.”
Rabbi Menachem Gansburg, spiritual leader of the Ledbury Jewish Centre, said the problem came to Rabbi Zaltzman’s attention when many families who live in Thornhill wanted their children to attend the Jewish daycare located in North York but could not access subsidies as it required crossing the municipal border.
“I know that Rabbi Zaltzman, my colleague, brought up this issue to the government and they made the change as they saw it was a just question,” he said.
Rabbi Gansburg said the Ledbury Jewish Centre, which offers a preschool and kindergarten program, was excited to host the announcement which will “benefit every single family of any religion, of any persuasion.”
