Hoping for $10-a-day child care? Here’s how many Toronto daycares opted in to the federal program for low-income parents this year.
The Toronto Star’s editorial cartoon team crunches some numbers on what’s likely happening in the child-care community.
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With $10 a day for a child or $60 a day for a family, can you really survive on $20 a day?
We found daycares around Canada are getting a taste of what a government subsidy for low-income parents means for working parents. But can you really survive on $20 a day?
Toronto (April 1-14): The daycare that received a subsidy had an average monthly bill of more than $700.
Ottawa (April 1-15): The subsidized daycare had bills upwards of $400.
A total of 28 licensed daycares, many with high levels of subsidies, received an average of $100 a month in subsidies from the government. Many also received government stipends ranging between $100 and $400.
The daycare that received a subsidy had an average monthly bill of more than $700. (Hannah Yoon/The Canadian Press)
The subsidy comes from a different policy called Tax Incentives on Early Learning, or TEEL, which allows parents to deduct the cost of child care from their taxes.
Some parents will use the tax subsidy to pay rent, bills or utilities. But for the daycares that the subsidy went to, the subsidies represent half or more of the cost of daycare.
The subsidies aren’t the only tax break for low-income parents.
There are also tax credits for eligible parents to claim on their child-care tax returns. Taxpayers in Ontario and B.C. can receive up to $2,300 of the credits each year for parents who choose to have their child cared for outside their own home.
Parents must also be in their child’s class in primary school, and they must work for five years before they are eligible for the credits.
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