Niagara Region
Administration
Office of the Regional Clerk
1815 Sir Isaac Brock Way, PO Box 1042, Thorold, ON L2V 4T7 Telephone: 905-685-4225 Toll-free: 1-800-263-7215 Fax: 905-687-4977 www.niagararegion.ca
September 1, 2020
The Honourable Doug Ford
Premier of Ontario
Legislative Building
Queen's Park
Toronto ON M7A 1A1
SENT ELECTRONICALLY
RE: Motion – Child Care
Regional Council, at its meeting held on August 13, 2020, passed the following resolution:
WHEREAS the Region of Niagara and Niagara’s twelve local area municipalities jointly declared a state of emergency on April 3, 2020 to protect the health of our communities;
WHEREAS the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a destructive toll on Niagara’s economy, resulting in business closures, job loses or a reduction of wages for Niagara residents and families;
WHEREAS women have been disproportionately impacted by these economic impacts, or have had to leave the labour market altogether in order to provide child care or home-schooling;
WHEREAS the provision of child care benefits employers, is proven to support economic recovery, but also leads to greater workforce participation by women and supports their return to the workforce;
WHEREAS the economic recovery of the Niagara Region and Ontario is dependent on families having access to safe, reliable, and affordable child care that incorporates early learning principles; and
WHEREAS a 2012 study on the economic value of child care identified that every dollar invested in child care in Ontario has a direct regional economic output of $2.27.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
The Government of Ontario prioritize children and child care as part of our overall post-pandemic recovery plan;
The Government of Ontario develop, adequately fund and release publicly a comprehensive plan that can support families through the provision of licensed child care and early learning education; and
The Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada work collaboratively to develop a National Child Care Strategy to make child care an essential part of our public infrastructure that can support and expedite economic recovery; and
That this motion BE CIRCULATED to those upper and single tier municipalities who are designated by the province as municipal service managers for childcare and local area MPPs and MPs.
Yours truly,
Ann-Marie Norio
Regional Clerk
CLK-C 2020-185
Distribution List:
The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Chris Bittle, MP - St. Catharines
Dean Allison, MP - Niagara West
Vance Badawey, MP - Niagara Centre
Tony Baldinelli, MP - Niagara Falls
Jennifer Stevens, MPP - St. Catharines
Jeff Burch, MPP - Niagara Centre
Wayne Gates, MPP - Niagara Falls
Sam Oosterhoff, MPP - Niagara West-Glanbrook
Clerk, City of Brantford
Clerk, City of Cornwall
Clerk, City of Greater Sudbury
Clerk, City of Hamilton
Clerk, City of Kawartha Lakes
Clerk, City of Kingston
Clerk, City of London
Clerk, City of Ottawa
Clerk, City of Peterborough
Clerk, City of St. Thomas
Clerk, City of Stratford
Clerk, City of Toronto
Clerk, City of Windsor
Clerk, Counties of Leeds & Grenville
Clerk, Counties of Prescott and Russell
Clerk, County of Bruce
Clerk, County of Dufferin
Clerk, County of Grey
Clerk, County of Hastings
Clerk, County of Huron
Clerk, County of Lambton
Clerk, County of Lanark
Clerk, County of Norfolk
Clerk, County of Northumberland
Clerk, County of Oxford
Clerk, County of Renfrew
Clerk, County of Simcoe
Clerk, County of Wellington
Algoma District Services Administration Board
Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board
Kenora District Services Board
Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board
Clerk, District of Muskoka
District of Nipissing Social Services Administration Board
District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board
Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board
District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board
Thunder Bay District Social Services Administration Board
District of Timiskaming Social Services Administration Board
Clerk, Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Prince Edward-Lennox and Addington Social Services
Clerk, Regional Municipality of Durham
Clerk, Regional Municipality of Halton
Clerk, Regional Municipality of Peel
Clerk, Regional Municipality of Waterloo
Clerk, Regional Municipality of York
