Seven Toronto daycares that told parents they would be opting out of the national $10-a-day program as of Jan. 1, raising some fees to more than $2,500 a month, have now decided to stay in the subsidized system.
A letter to parents at Sunnyside Day Care says that as a result of staying within the $10-a-day system, the fee for all spots will now be $478.50 per month.
The seven daycares with various ties to two businessmen made up half of the 14 centres in the city that planned to withdraw at the start of this year.
At the time of the withdrawal notices, the directors of Sunnyside said they hoped the program would “evolve or be replaced with something that allows for increased viability, better access and more choice in selecting child care for all parents.”
No changes to the program have been announced since their withdrawal notices, but the directors now say they heard from families about the impact of their decision to pull out of the program.
“With that in mind, we engaged in a series of further conversations with a variety of child-care professionals including government representatives and other daycare operators, both those who participate in (the $10-a-day program) and those who don’t,” Sunnyside said in a recent letter to parents.
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“Dialogue was also initiated with the City of Toronto to discuss what options were available.”
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It is somewhat cold comfort for Josclyn Johnson and other parents who took their children out of Sunnyside due to the pending massive fee increases. She was not able to find a spot in another centre that is part of the $10-a-day program because of long waitlists, but she is hoping to get back into Sunnyside because she was happy with the care and she believes in the goals of the national program.
“It’s heartening to know that the owners seem to have come to that conclusion too,” she said. “I think better access to affordable child care is the best option for our entire community and society at large.”
Two people — Holton Hunter and John McCallum — are listed as the active directors of Sunnyside. They are also listed as the active directors of Curious Caterpillars. That centre, care of John McCallum, is listed as the registrant for two other centres — Alphabet Station and Alphabet Academy.
Teddy Bear Academy is listed as being registered by MVG Ventures, care of Holton Hunter. A website for MVG Ventures describes it as a venture capital firm.
All told, Hunter and/or McCallum appear to be connected to seven child-care centres. All of them gave notice in the fall that they would be leaving the $10-a-day system as of Jan. 1 and all have since rescinded their opt-out notices, the city of Toronto confirmed.
Jenna Sudds, federal minister of families, children and social development, in December cited the withdrawals of those daycares as one reason for denying a request from Ontario to let the province increase participation of for-profit providers in the program.
Ontario says that a limit on the percentage of for-profit spaces in its deal with the federal government is hampering growth, with Peel Region alone having to turn down more than 2,000 potential spaces under the $10-a-day program because the operators were for-profit.
But Sudds said in an interview with The Canadian Press last month that she would not be removing the cap, citing reporting on the Sunnyside-connected daycares.
“Undoubtedly, there are many for-profit operators in Ontario and in other parts of the country that are in this because they care deeply about providing high-quality care for families, and they genuinely care deeply … but where there is venture capital, private equity, these are not necessarily operators who are here for the best interests of our children,” she said.