Province's day care promise ignores working parents, says Sudbury educator

In last week's budget, the Ontario government announced it would create 24,000 new childcare spaces in the next year, two thirds of them subsidized.

The news came as a relief for parents who qualify for subsidized day care, and are currently on waiting lists.

• Ontario will unveil 16,000 subsidized child-care spaces in the provincial budget

But the province's promise won't help parents who work and earnjust over the subsidy threshold.

Laura Falvo, the executive director of the Montessori School of Sudbury, says she often hears of parents' struggles.

"You have families that struggle in the sense that they're going to work, and working a 40 hour week," Falvo said.

"80 per cent of what you're working for in that week is going towards paying your child's daycare."

Sudbury has spaces openif parents qualify

In a city like Sudbury, where Falvo said there are still subsidized spaces open, the province's real challenge will be to pay and retain qualified staff to care for kids.

"They need to provide supports for all parents. Give the parents abreak. If the parents aren't working the economy is affected, and it becomes a rolling problem, said Falvo."[The budget announcement] is a start."

"If the government would put their money where their mouth is, we could maintain quality workers, and have early childhood educators stay with daycares and provide the quality care parents are looking for."

Listen to the interview here