Ontario weakened its $10-a-day child care funding rules. Now the federal government is demanding answers from the province.
Last week, the Government of Ontario announced changes to its child care funding system following the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in favour of an advocacy group called Centre for Child Protection. Under the previous system, the province decided who qualified for the full $10-a-day child care benefit.
Now, a change was made. The new system makes it more difficult for low income families to qualify for the $50-a-day benefit. Instead, low-income families can qualify for the $10-a-day benefit.
How does this impact you?
The government has not made changes to the “full” benefit that includes the full $50-a-day child care benefit.
Instead, they have altered a measure that affects low income families.
If you choose to use the “partial” child care benefit, you can get the full $50-a-day child care benefit if you meet a lower income threshold of Ontario Works.
This is the measure the government is now asking Ontario to explain:
The full Child Care Benefit or partial Child Care Benefit should be made available to families with a child in their care for a limited number of hours or be made available to families with a child in care for the duration of the child’s care, whichever is more likely.
The government is now saying it is still open for Ontario to argue that there is a larger need for the full benefit.
To get the full benefit, a family needs to meet the Ontario Works income criteria. Only about 10 per cent of people in Ontario do.
The government is proposing to change the current system by asking Ontario to show it has a larger need. The new system would lower the income threshold for the benefit to $25,722.
This new system for child care eligibility has been met resistance from parents and the Child Care Association of Ontario (CCAO).
The CCAO has asked
