A stop in Windsor for the federal justice minister and Attorney General of Canada.
Arif Virani was in the city on Thursday, for a local announcement related to child care.
The federal government announced its launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces and training options for early childhood educators.
The child-care-centric commitments will be included in the upcoming federal budget, with the aim of opening up more $10-a-day child-care spaces across the country.
The government is working towards creating 250,000 new spaces by March 2026.
Virani says it's a big, ambitious plan that supports the $30 billion that's been invested since 2021 on the $10-a-day program, and they'll hit a milestone on April 1.
"We're going to have eight out of 13 provinces and territories doing exactly that. We're not there quite yet here in Ontario, we're trying to stimulate the Ontario government to really live up to the agreement agreement they signed with us. To make sure we've got enough spaces here with enough highly qualified and properly paid early childhood educators to look after our kids. Because that's fundamental to me as a parent, and it's fundamental to parents in Windsor and around the province."
One of the biggest local challenges is the lack of childcare workers and early childhood educators, something Virani says the money outlined will help with through additional training.
"Because it's not enough to say we're bringing the price down and building spots, people want to have confidence in who is looking after their kids. My boys are nine and 13 now, but when they were younger, obviously I wanted them in a spot but in a safe, secure and properly regulated facility. Where I knew they'd get good supervision and instruction that helps them with their development, that's fundamental."
He says there's also a huge economic component to having more child care workers and spaces available to families.
"We're seeing a lot of new economic activity here in Windsor, with the EV battery plant being a case in point. What's really good about this kind of program is that it unlocks economic potential. Traditionally we know that if one of the parents needs to stay home, it usually been women that stay home. We're on the path towards $10-a-day childcare so we're seeing record setting levels of women's labour force participation."
Specifically, the federal government is vowing to offer $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in non-repayable grants to public and not-for-profit child-care providers to build or renovate their care centres.
- with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides