Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
After months of waiting, Ontario and the federal government could be days away from announcing a $10 a day childcare deal. Still, sources tell CityNews the province may not get any special payments to account for kindergarten.
Ontario has long been the holdout to sign on to this $30-billion childcare plan, arguing it deserves more cash than its per capita share due, in part, to full-day kindergarten.
According to sources, a deal is expected to be announced next week.
While nothing is signed yet, multiple federal sources say there will be no special credit for Ontario. As it stands, the province will get the original offer of $10.2-billion over five years.
Ford has maintained that the current funding offer of $10.2 billion is insufficient for his province’s needs. His government has also asked for assurance that the program will last longer than five years.
Two federal sources tell CityNews infrastructure issues have been a part of discussions with every province, and any potential funds were not brought in to get Ontario on board.
Trudeau, Ford On The Same Page As Negotiations Enter Final Stages
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford publicly acknowledged that an announcement on a proposed $10-a-day childcare plan would come “very soon” amid calls for a deal before the fast-approaching end of the fiscal year.
March 31 is the deadline to sign a deal.
On Wednesday, Trudeau said both sides agree that they want to make life more affordable for families.
“The common ground that we’ve always shared is a desire to see cost lower for hardworking families across Ontario, and indeed across the country and do the things that are going to help them get ahead,” Trudeau said.
“The government of Canada and the government of Ontario are working very hard and very well together, and we hope to have announcements to make soon.”
Ford echoed Trudeau’s comments and repeated that a deal would come soon.
“Our teams are working together on a daily basis, and we’ll have an announcement very, very soon,” the Premier said.
Prime Minister Trudeau announced the $66-million childcare deal with Nunavut on January 24. Trudeau has said that the feds have been ready to sign an agreement with Ontario for “many, many months now.”
In November, Ontario’s Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, stressed that the province remains “committed” to striking a deal with the federal government and said negotiations were ongoing.
Past modelling projections by University of Toronto economist Gordon Cleveland concluded Ontario would need to increase childcare capacity by about 200,000 new spaces if fees are cut by 50 per cent, which the federal plan calls for by the end of 2022.
