Survey Test Area - ADCO :: The Association of Day Care Operators of Ontario

How Will Bill 148, The Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act impact your centre?

On June 1, 2017, Kathleen Wynne's Liberals tabled Bill 148--The Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act--at Queen's Park. It was the last sitting day for the legislature prior to the summer break and in addition to taking the Bill to First Reading, Kathleen Wynne's Liberals sent it to the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs. This means the current Government is in a hurry to see Bill 148 passed before the election. Bill 148 is extremely far-reaching. Highlights of the Bill were outlined in the Premier's media statement on May 30. It constitutes a significant expansion of the Employment Standards Act, strengthens the Government's ability to penalize employers, makes it riskier and more expensive for employers to take on new staff, and rapidly and significantly increases the minimum wage. ADCO is deeply concerned about the impact of the Bill on Ontario's independent licensed child care owner/operators, especially since it comes at a time when Kathleen Wynne's Liberals are instructing municipalities to further discriminate against licensed child care programs that are run as businesses.

Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey, so that ADCO may tabulate the results and use them in its communications with the Provincial Government, MPPs, the media and the public. Please be assured that your responses will be held in confidence and will only be shared in aggregate form. We will not specifically identify which centres have provided this information or in any way link your responses to you. Thank you very much for your help.

How many years has your licensed child care program been in business?

Five years or less

Six to ten years

Ten to twenty years

More than twenty years

How many licensed child care locations do you currently operate?

Taking into account all of sites at which you currently provide licensed child care, how many spaces do you currently operate? (Please include part-time spaces in your response.)

Taking into account all of your licensed sites, how many people do you currently employ? (Please include full-time, part-time and casual staff in your total.)

If Bill 184-the Fair Workplaces Better Jobs Act-is enacted in its current form, how much will you need to increase parent fees in order to cover the increase in your operating costs as of January 2018?

10% or less

Between 10% and 20%

Between 20% and 30%

Over 30%

How much will you need to increase parent fees in order to cover the operating cost increases associated with the changes to the Child Care and Early Years Act (CCEYA) that are to implemented this September 2017?

3% or less

Between 4% and 6%

Between 7% and 10%

Over 10%

What increase to parent fees do you anticipate will result from all other budget pressures facing your child care centre(s) in 2017/18? Please include rent increases, hydro rate increases, property tax increases, new sampling and testing requirements for lead in drinking water, etc.

3% or less

Between 4% and 6%

Between 7% and 10%

Over 10%

If there is no additional Provincial/Municipal funding to assist with the cost increases outlined in the previous three questions, will your child care centre continue to be financially viable?

Yes

No

We may have to close one or more locations.

Not sure at this time.

How would it impact your program's viability if the Ministry of Education were to allow Wage Grants to be included in remuneration when calculating then new minimum wage rates mandated by Bill 148?

It would help reduce potential increases to parent fees.

It would make a positive difference, but probably not enough to keep all of our sites open.

It would not make a difference.

We do not receive wage grants.

Have you cancelled or begun to reconsider expansion plans for your program as a result of recent Government policies or proposed legislation?

Yes

No

Not sure/prefer not to say.

If you answered "yes" to the previous question, please indicate which of the following was the biggest factor in your decision.

Bill 148 and the proposed changes to the minimum wage and/or the Employment Standards Act.

Recent or pending changes to the Child Care & Early Years Act and/or the Renewed Framwork for Early Learning & Child Care

New testing, flushing and lead mitigation requirements for drinking water

All of the above.

If the provincial Government could do one thing in the next 90 days to make Ontario a better place to open, expand, or own and operate a licensed child care centre what would it be?