Child Care Woes for Parents in London, Ontario

Christopher Labelle lives and works in London, Ont., but drives his three-year-old son, Dexton, 45 minutes southeast of the city to Tillsonburg to drop him off at daycare at least three days a week.

“It’s not fair to my son to have to sit in the car so many hours a day,” Labelle said.

His search for child care began when Dexton was six months old while they were living in Aylmer. A $35-a-day home daycare in Tillsonburg was the closest option they could find.

After separating from Dexton’s mother and moving to London, Labelle has been looking for a place in the city but hasn’t had much luck.

“There was just nothing that was structured and able to accommodate the hours that we were looking for,” he said.

Chelsea Green Children’s Centre in London, Ont., is at full capacity and has more than 400 families on its waitlist. (Kendra Seguin/)

Five years after the federal government started its plan for a nationwide $10-a-day daycare program, many parents are still having trouble finding child care at all, let alone taking advantage of the program’s benefits.

“With each month, I lose more hope,” said parent Sura Alqiseed, who has applied to 25 daycares over two years. “I’m supposed to go back to work in July and I still have nothing lined up. I think about it constantly.”

The Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, which reduces fees to an average of $19 a day in Ontario as a temporary measure towards $10, had been set to end on March 31.

The province secured a one-year extension with Ottawa for the child-care agreement late last year. However, Education Minister Paul Calandra’s spokesperson, Emma Testani, mentioned last week that a “significant increase” in federal funding is needed to keep the program going longer.

“Without a revised federal funding commitment, the long-term success of the … program is at risk,” Testani said in an email.

Ontario Minister of Education Paul Calandra visits a childcare centre in Stouffville, Ont., in this file photo. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

This situation worries parents like Alqiseed who fears finding affordable childcare will be even tougher if the subsidy ends.

“I don’t know how they’re planning to get people to survive.”

Daycares feel pressure

Parents around London can apply for child care on One HSN’s website where they can join several waitlists for their preferred centres.

Alqiseed said she called some centres she applied at and learned there were over 400 families ahead of her at one location. Many centres wouldn’t disclose how long their waitlist is either, she added.

At Chelsea Green Children’s Centre in London, registrar Margaret Cereghini shared that they are currently full with 114 kids enrolled but have about 450 families waiting. She described that number as “low,” saying it reached as high as 2,000 people just a few years ago.

Cereghini expressed her frustration: “I’ve had parents cry,” she said. “I’ve had many families come by regularly enough that I know them by sight and their child’s name.”Sura Alquiseed says she won’t be able to go to work as planned in July if she can’t find childcare for her one-year-old son, pictured here. (Submitted by Sura Alquiseed)

Chelsea Green accepts subsidized families with their highest rate being $22 per day. Cereghini noted it would be “devastating” if CWELCC ends forcing them back up to $45-a-day fees.

“When you look at what working families are going through right now trying just putting food on the table or gas in their cars along with high childcare costs-it’s just not sustainable.”

Cereghini emphasized that making child care easier isn’t only about keeping CWELCC intact; it’s also crucial that there are enough registered early childhood educators available.

“It really comes back down educating folks who want into this field so it’s attractive enough for them stick around,” she stated.

The province’s spokesperson Testani mentioned that Ontario has rolled out a “comprehensive workforce strategy” aimed at improving conditions including higher pay and better job opportunities for registered childhood educators.

‘I feel like I’m failing as a mom’

Sura Alqiseed shared how she’s nearly run out of options for childcare. Daycares aren’t getting back to her replies nor do any family members have time available help babysit her son. She’s even turned towards Facebook groups searching desperately yet still hasn’t found anything workable.

Sura Alquiseed says she won’t be able to go work as planned until next month without securing reliable child care arrangements.
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