Premier Ford says province ‘very close’ to signing $10-a-day child care deal
Published January 25, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Premier Doug Ford says the province is “very close” to inking a deal with the feds for $10-a-day child care across Ontario.
Ottawa has earmarked $30 billion over five years to cut child care fees to an average of $10 per day across the country, and Ontario is now the only jurisdiction in Canada that hasn’t struck a deal after Nunavut signed an agreement on Monday.
In an interview with Khaled Iwamura from insauga.com, Ford said he has been in talks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland “the best deal for the people of Ontario.”
“We’re going to get it done,” Ford said on Tuesday.
But Ford said he wants more than a five-year commitment, saying the province needs “ongoing funding,” the premier said on Tuesday.
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“We have to watch the dollars and cents here, I want the best deal we can get for Ontario,” he said. “The good news is we’re going to get there, we’re very, very close.”
With no deal for the province, some Ontario municipalities have taken steps to try and press the issue locally.
In November, Brampton City Council passed a motion urging the provincial and federal governments to come to an agreement before the end of the year, while some Hamilton councillors explored bypassing the Ford government entirely and signing deals directly with the feds.
Niagara Region Council also passed a motion asking staff to investigate the potential for them to enter into a direct agreement with the feds, which led Ford to plead with Ontario municipalities not to make “side-deals.”
On Monday, Trudeau announced a $66-million deal between Ottawa and Nunavut saying the estimated savings for families in Iqaluit will be about $14,000 a year.
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