$10-a-day plan ‘very, very close,’ Ford says

A “confident” Premier Doug Ford says a deal with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to deliver $10-a-day child care to Ontario families is “very, very close.”

In the wake of an exclusive story in the Star that disclosed an agreement is imminent, Ford was asked Tuesday on a Kenora radio station if Ontarians could “be assured it is coming” now that every other province and territory has signed on.

“Yeah, you can be assured,” the premier told hosts Kim Leduc and Ken O’Neil on Q104.

“We’ve been going back and forth with the federal government. We’ve had great discussions, but I’m a business person. I’m not going to make a deal just for making a deal and we get shortchanged,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure that the federal government is a true partner. Not one-time funding. Not ‘here’s enough money for five years and then we’re taking off.’”

Emphasizing “we need consistent funding from the federal government” to keep affordable child care sustainable, Ford said negotiations with Ottawa have been fruitful.

“We’re very, very close. I’m confident we’re going to strike a deal that’s going to be beneficial for everyone in Ontario,” he said.

“We’ll get there as sure as I’m talking to you.”

With Ontario the lone holdout to sign on to a federal funding plan after Nunavut unveiled its agreement Monday, pressure has been mounting on Ford.

Ottawa and Queen’s Park have been in discussions for months about a federal plan that would give Ontario $10.2 billion to expand licensed non-profit child-care spaces, cutting average fees in half by the end of this year, and lead to $10-a-day care within five years.

As Ford stressed on Q104, the only remaining impediment is how long Ottawa would keep up its end of the bargain after the five-year deal expires.

Sources say federal officials have tried to allay those fears by proposing to either extend the length of the accord or to review funding after the third or fifth year of the agreement.

Queen’s Park is concerned funding for the program could dwindle under a future federal government. Provincial officials note that federal health transfer payments have declined from a 50-50 split decades ago to a 22 per cent share from Ottawa with the provinces footing the rest of the tab.