Unifor Women's Department Director believes Ontario's new child care agreement with the federal government will be a "game changer."
Tracey Ramsey says the greatest impact is people being able to make a choice on whether they want to go to work or not.
The former Essex New Democrat MP says making that decision also means they won't have to shell out tens of thousands of dollars a year to be able to have that quality care.
"When people have a choice that they can go to work, they can afford to pay for quality, affordable, public child care, it's really a win-win for families to make that decision for themselves," says Ramsey.
As announced Monday, the deal signed between the Ontario government and the federal government will bring child-care fees down to an average of $10 a day by September 2025.
The deal also has Ontario creating 86,000 child-care spaces, though that number includes more than 15,000 spaces already created since 2019.
Ramsey says the spaces that are going to be created will provide opportunity for so many in Windsor-Essex that can't get into a centre right now.
"Knowing that it's going to be regulated, it's going to be quality child care and that those workers are going to be treated fairly means a lot to people here locally. It really is going to change the opportunities that exist for families," she says.
Ramsey says we could see very significant changes when it comes to people going back to work.
"Having a family, what the family looks like, how many children they'd like to have, young people in particular. A lot of young people say they can't image having children because of the high cost of child care and housing and everything else they're experiencing, this could be a game changer for that," she adds.
Ontario parents of children aged five and under in child care will start getting rebates in May as part of the $10.2-billion deal the province has signed with the federal government. The rebates, retroactive to April 1, will be for a fee reduction of up to 25 per cent.
Parents are also set to see a further cost reduction in December, when fees will be reduced, on average, by 50 per cent, with further cuts slated for September 2024 to bring Ontario to an average of $10 a day by September 2025.