Parents, Educators, and Health Experts to Hold Media Conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. to Call for Urgent Action on Child Care Safety as Ontario Becomes Sole Province Without Child Care Deal

TORONTO--()--Parents, Early Childhood Educators and health experts will release an open letter to Premier Ford and Ontario’s opposition leaders on Wednesday calling for urgent action on child care as Omicron batters the sector.

Child care centres across Ontario are grappling with short staffing, no access to PCR testing, limited supply of N95 masks, and the erosion of reporting requirements, leading to serious safety concerns among workers, child care operators, parents, and health experts.

Signatories on the letter are calling on Premier Doug Ford to immediately re-instate COVID-19 testing and case reporting in child care and to sign a federal child care deal. The deal must include $10-a-day care and a workforce strategy that includes a new minimum wage of $25/hour for child care and early learning workers to prevent the collapse of the child care sector.

On Wednesday, January 26 at 10:00 a.m., child care allies will hold a virtual media conference to discuss the current state of child care in the province.

WHAT:

Media conference to hear directly from the child care community about conditions on the frontline

WHEN:

Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.

WHO:

Mike Layton, Councillor, City of Toronto and member, Toronto Board of Health; Carolyn Ferns, Policy Coordinator, Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care; Jess Tomas, Registered Early Childhood Educator, (CUPE 2484); Wendy LaRose, Toronto Parents for Child Care; and Sheila Olan-Maclean, CEO Compass Early Learning and Care.

Where:

Register in advance at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdO6qrj8qGdTW3-UQu07foSnCW_tcD3xs

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Contacts

For more information, please contact:
Paul Whyte
Communications Representative
CUPE Communications
647-212-9887
pwhyte@cupe.ca

Carolyn Ferns
Policy Coordinator
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
647-218-1275
carolyn@childcareontario.org

Contacts

For more information, please contact:
Paul Whyte
Communications Representative
CUPE Communications
647-212-9887
pwhyte@cupe.ca

Carolyn Ferns
Policy Coordinator
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care
647-218-1275
carolyn@childcareontario.org