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Toronto—Today, parents, children and municipal leaders across Ontario joined in community celebrations marking the second annual Child Care Worker Appreciation Day.

In Toronto, the staff at the Hester How Child Care Centre were honoured with flowers, certificates of recognition and heartfelt appreciation from parents who told personal stories of how the staff at the centre have helped their children and their family. The parents also stressed the need for increased funding for regulated child care to alleviate the growing waiting list for spaces.

“Working parents and local governments understand how valuable quality, accessible, regulated child care is for families in our communities. This is why municipalities are allying with parents, workers and community activists in getting the message out to the federal and provincial governments that increased funding for child care must be a priority.

“Each day, these workers are dealing with the impacts of a child care system that is under threat and chronically under-funded. Their efforts need to be recognized,” said Sid Ryan, Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the union that represents more than 5,000 child care workers province-wide.

Ryan was joined at the celebration by Toronto Councillor Olivia Chow and Cheryl DeGras the Executive Director of the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care (OCBCC).

A CUPE/OCBCC study of child care service plans found that local governments are struggling with immense funding pressures but are committed to providing Ontario families with access to affordable, high quality child care.

“The special day,” said DeGras “gives us the opportunity to recognize the important contribution made to the well-being and health of our children, families and communities. It also gives advocates of child care, whether they be municipal politicians, parents or workers the chance to tell the provincial government it has to pay its fair share of child care costs.”

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For more information please contact:Sid Ryan, President CUPE Ontario
(416) 209-0066
Cheryl DeGras, Executive Director, OCBCC
(416) 209-8914
Olivia Chow, Councillor, City of Toronto
(416) 392-4044
Stella Yeadon, CUPE Communications
(416) 578-8774