November 17, 2025
Child-care affordability is coming at the expense of equity — and it’s time governments acted
Excerpt: "Five years into Canada’s $10-a-day child care plan, affordability has improved dramatically for families fortunate enough to have a space. However, the families who need care the most are being left behind. Both the auditor general of Canada and the auditor general of Ontario have warned that the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, while successful in lowering fees, is failing to meet its other commitments — inclusion, quality and equitable access. The $10-a-day plan was meant to be a nation-building project — one that gives every child, regardless of background, an equal start in life. But affordability without equity is a hollow victory. If governments fail to correct course, inequities will harden into the system’s design, and the intergenerational cycle of poverty will deepen."