As many as 140,000 daycare spaces may be lost if the Ontario Liberal government refuses to make changes to its bill updating the province’s childcare laws, independent care providers warn.

The Coalition of Independent Childcare Providers of Ontario (CICPO) says that new regulations contained in Bill 10 mean that in addition to the lost daycare spaces, fees could go up by between 30 and 40 per cent.

The bill -- the Childcare Modernization Act -- will replace the Day Nurseries Act. The proposed changes include:

  • Increasing the number of spaces in licensed home daycares from five to six.
  • Limiting the number of children under age two in a home daycare to two.

Upon re-introducing the bill in July, the provincial government said it will strengthen oversight of the unlicensed childcare sector while at the same time increasing spaces in licensed care centres. 

The bill hikes penalties for infractions by childcare providers, and creates a new, dedicated team to investigate complaints against unlicensed daycares.

“Parents want to know their children are in a safe, nurturing environment. And parents need to know the government can intervene if their child’s safety is at risk,” Education Minister Liz Sandals said when the bill was reintroduced in July.

However, the CICPO warns that the changes, in particular the cap on the number of children under age two per daycare, will mean independent childcare providers will have to immediately cancel daycare spaces or close up shop entirely.

“There is no question that this bill, as written, will create a childcare crisis in Ontario," CICPO co-founder Heidi Higgins said Thursday in a statement.

Her group is also decrying the Liberal government’s decision to shut down debate in the legislature over the proposed bill after six hours.

As well, the CICPO says, the government ignored requests from the opposition to allow the standing committee overseeing the bill to travel across the province in order to get input from relevant stakeholders, including daycare providers and parents.

The government, Higgins says, “is choosing to ignore the very serious concerns of thousands of families across Ontario. It is pushing a through a massive bill as quickly as possible in order to avoid the bill's damaging and counterproductive proposals from becoming public.”

Parents and daycare providers will stage a protest outside Education Minister Liz Sandals’ constituency office in Guelph on Sunday, and outside Liberal House Leader Yasir Naqvi’s constituency office in Ottawa on Monday.