A group of Toronto parents plan to show up at Mayor Rob Ford's office with their children on Thursday morning, as part of ongoing protests against cuts to city services.
The parents, members of a loose coalition called Stop the Cuts, say they won't be deterred by Ford's promise earlier this week to save 2,000 subsidized daycare spaces that had b
Dozens of Toronto parents showed up at Mayor Rob Ford's office with their children on Thursday morning, protesting cuts to city services and setting up a temporary daycare at City Hall.
About 100 protesters, including members of a loose coalition called Stop the Cuts, appeared to be undeterred by Ford's promise earlier this week to save 2,000 subsidized daycare spaces previously on the chopping block.
After first being denied entry into council, they set up a temporary daycare in Ford's office, but later returned to the council chamber in the late morning after some councillors spoke up in support of the protest.
In a release issued Thursday morning, the protesters said access to affordable daycare continues to be a problem for many families, even if the subsidized spaces are saved.
"My children have already been displaced from two daycares because of closures," organizer Lindsay Windhager said in the release. "The daycare system is in crisis. Governments needed to be investing more, not less, into creating affordable universal daycare."
Windhager described marching through City Hall with a massive group of demonstrators, including children of all ages, many of whom were playing instruments.
When they eventually gained access to council, the kids shared a prepared snack with many of the left-leaning councillors including Ana Bailao, Adam Vaughan, Janet Davis and Mike Layton.
Windhager cautioned against believing Ford's assurances that the subsidized spaces have been saved.
"People are perceiving that these issues are off the table but they were just temporarily pushed back," she told CTVToronto.ca. "I think it's important for us to continue to apply pressure… We want the Ford administration to know this isn't going away."
Early Tuesday morning, after an overnight executive committee session where councillors heard from hundreds of residents opposing service cuts, Ford stressed the need to remedy a projected $774 million budget shortfall.
"I understand some people are very upset at me," he said. "You can ridicule me. You can call me names -- that's fine. But this should have been done 14 years ago folks, in 1997."
een on the chopping block.
The group plans to bring a children's marching band to city hall, and will visit the council chambers for a "snack break" on the way to Ford's office.
In a release issued Thursday morning, the protesters said access to affordable daycare continues to be a problem for many families, even if the subsidized spaces are saved.
"My children have already been displaced from two daycares because of closures," Lindsay Windhager, a mother participating in the demonstration, said in the release. "The daycare system is in crisis. Governments needed to be investing more, not less, into creating affordable universal daycare."
Early Tuesday morning, after an overnight executive committee session where councillors heard from hundreds of residents opposing service cuts, Ford stressed the need to remedy a projected $774 million budget shortfall.
"I understand some people are very upset at me," he said. "You can ridicule me. You can call me names -- that's fine. But this should have been done 14 years ago folks, in 1997."
