Ontario parents to see childcare rebates by end of the year

All Ontario parents whose kids attend a daycare that signed on to the federal $10-a-day program should see their rebates by the end of the year, the province’s education minister says.

Stephen Lecce told CTV News Toronto that about 92 per cent of child-care operators have signed on to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child-Care System.

The program will see fees for parents eventually reduced to $10 a day by 2025.

Operators had until Nov. 1 to sign up and municipalities had 10 days to approve those applications. Then, the daycare has 30 days to sign the contract and receive government funding.

The operators are then mandated to provide parents refunds within 20 days.

"Parents now have a guarantee," Lecce said. He calls it "a service standard of 20 days, the dollars have got to flow so we can move the money into the pockets of families, especially ahead of Christmas."

"I don't want to see money sitting in the bank accounts,” Lecce said. “I want to see it in the pockets of parents."

The federal government signed the deal with Ontario last spring. Under the deal, fees would be reduced 25 per cent this year and 50 per cent next year.

"By the end of October we were able to refund 191 families," said Anoush Bennett operator of the Lakeshore Community Childcare Centre in Etobicoke.

One Whitby, Ont. parent told CTV News Toronto last month that the cheque in retroactive daycare fees was “life changing.” The amount was for about $4,500.

The rebates parents receive are retroactive to April 1, 2022.