Ontario child-care sector skeptical rebates will start in May as government announced

After signing a deal with the federal government to introduce 10-dollar-a-day child care, Ontario said parents would start seeing rebates in May.

But with the program still in its early stages, the sector says that's unlikely to happen.

Municipalities are tasked with handling child-care operators' applications and allocating funding in their regions, but the money only recently flowed to them and they are still in the process of establishing their own guidelines.

Spokespeople for the Ontario government refused to answer on multiple occasions how many operators had enrolled so far.

Ontario was the last province to sign on to the federal plan to lower child-care fees for children aged five and under to an average of 10-dollars a day by 2025.

The government said at the time that initial rebates for reductions of up to 25 per cent would begin in May, retroactive to April 1st.

Parents are set to see a further cost reduction in December, when fees will be reduced on average by 50 per cent, ahead of the 10-dollar target.

The government recently said child-care operators have had the program details “for many weeks” and it is up to them now to apply.

But they have until September to apply and some operators may not feel able to make a decision until much closer to the deadline.

(The Canadian Press)