Daycare hit with $160,000 rent hike

Decision could lead to loss of 44 child-care spaces

One of Niagara’s largest and longest-serving child-care providers is facing a $160,000 rent hike at its St. Catharines centre housed in a provincial government building.

Ultimately, that added expense could be paid by Niagara Region, by returning money it receives from the Ontario government.

A Child’s World, Family Child Care Services of Niagara, a nonprofit organization providing early learning and daycare for children since 1970, received a letter from the Ministry of Infrastructure last July stating all child-care operators located in government-owned buildings with expiring leases would be required to start paying market rental rates.

The group’s Garden City daycare is in the Ministry of Transportation building at 301 St. Paul St.

The rent hike was to take effect Jan. 1, but A Child’s World executive director Kim Cole said it was postponed to September.

She said to target child-care centres in government buildings is “not a fair thing to do.”

The rent hike could lead to the elimination of 44 affordable childcare spots or force the Niagara Region to pay the difference through its child-care centre allotment, she said.

In an interview Thursday, Cole said it’s frustrating because that money should be used to support child-care centres, educators and families across Niagara rather than going back to the government for spaces centres have always used.

“The Region is mandated to pay that from the budget that they receive but just in good conscience, it’s just not sitting well with me,” she said.

Cole said the St. Paul Street daycare pays $10 a year for its space, which includes a rooftop playground, that was built to accommodate workplaces.

The building is also home to Ontario Disability Support Program.

A Child’s World has 19 sites across the region. Cole said its combined

rent budget for one year is just more than $300,000. The jump from $10 a year to $160,000 for one location “is a big chunk of money.”

The organization has been in contact with the government, with plans to meet in April to continue negotiations.

Cole submitted a counterproposal, but the province returned its own — starting at $140,000 for the first year and working its way up to $161,000 in Year 5.

The rental increase comes at a time when Niagara’s licensed child-care sector is dealing with ongoing struggles of staffing shortages and uncertainty about funding — as the government looks to boost the amount of affordable child-care spaces in Ontario.

A Child’s World has a “huge” wait-list, said Cole. Its spaces are running a between 65 and 70 per cent capacity because it doesn’t have necessary staff to add more spots.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Infrastructure said the province is taking steps to “improve and streamline the management of government-owned and leased real estate,” which includes working with operators to negotiate new leases around current market-based rent prices.

“To ensure stability in the child-care sector, the Ministry of Education is currently developing a new cost-based funding formula, which would recognize market-based lease rents,” it said.

St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens challenged the rent increase decision in the legislature Thursday. She said the government is putting profit ahead of the needs of Niagara families.

In response, Minister Kinga Surma spoke about Ontario’s child-care deal with the federal government that includes adding 86,000 child-care spaces, but said she is “happy” to further look into the request.

In an interview with The Standard, Stevens said she spoke with Surma to clarify the request after the minister’s followup response included statements on how the province is investing in Niagara by building two new hospitals.

“To scrap the 30-year agreement just doesn’t make sense (and) if this is all they have to offer, this is definitely not the answer,” said Stevens, adding she is hopeful a resolution is found that “makes sense.”

“We have to make sure that we prioritize and we create affordable child spaces, but equally important that we can keep the ones that already exist, that (Niagarans) depend on so they can go to work and can afford to live and put food on their table.”

Cole said A Child’s World is looking at options to avoid the Region having to pay the sixfigure rent hike.

That could include moving, she said, but only if it could find an appropriate spot close to its St. Paul Street location.

“I don’t want parents thinking that we’re just going to close up and leave them because we’re not, we will stay first,” she said.

Niagara Region children services director Satinder Klair said expenses beyond the control of the service provider, such as rent, are expected to be supported through emerging issues funding, provided by the province through Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care funding.

The Region has been allocated $1.86 million by the province to support emerging issues in 2024.

“Rent increases reduce the emerging issues funding available to support the sector with other increasing costs that are expected to be funded from this line of funding,” said Klair.