“This renewed framework is a bold step forward,” said Indira Naidoo-Harris, minister responsible for early years and child care, in a statement to child care advocates. A recent city of Toronto study noted that three-quarters of local families can’t afford licensed child care. About 24 per cent of registered early childhood educators working in licensed child care earn less than $15 an hour, according to the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario. Parents in cities said they can’t access licensed child care because it is too expensive while those in rural areas said centres are too far away. Across the province, barely one in five children under age 4 have access to licensed child care.

Source: thestar June 06, 2017 09:56 UTC