Protesting the childcare act

More than 13-hundred daycare providers and parents have signed an online petition protesting the province’s proposed changes to the laws governing child care. The proposed changes come after a two-year old child was found dead in an unlicensed Vaughan daycare. But some daycare providers say the changes will have huge impacts on not only providers, but a parents right to choose.

Katherine King runs Kiwi Kids Daycare in Hamilton. She charges thirty-five dollars a day for full time care. If the proposed changes take effect, she says her rates will have to jump because she may have fewer children in her care: “They’re going to be leaving a lot of families without care by implementing the new ratios. They’re going to leave a lot of parents with infants unable to find affordable care and a parent of more than one child may have to look for care in different locations for both of their children.”

If the changes pass, unlicenced daycares won’t be able to look after more than two children under the age of two. Right now, they’re allowed five kids under the age of six.

Melanie Tomlinson is a daycare provider: “I went to College for E.C.E. I’ve been trained and educated to do this and now they’re putting ratio’s on us.”

Melanie charges $37 a day. Although she isn’t licenced or monitored by the government, she says she still has to answer to an even higher authority: “Parents should have a choice and parents are my inspectors they come in twice a day.”

Melanie is one of many who’ve signed an online petition opposing the changes to childcare laws. She says 143,000 children could be bumped from unlicenced daycares to licensed ones. The licensed daycares can cost as much as 20 dollars more a day for an infant.

Since Katherine began her petition December 3rd she’s been able to gather the support of more than 1,300 parents and daycare providers: “I feel the government is over stepping their boundaries and taking away the rights of parents to choose who cares for their children.”

Katherine King is planning to take her protest to Queen’s Park. Meanwhile, the Ontario government says child care laws haven’t changed significantly in 68 years. It says if the new act becomes law, it’ll improve children’s safety and give the government more power to punish people who disobey child care laws. Some fines will be increased to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.