TORONTO – Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, made the following statement:
Doug Ford is putting parents in desperate need of safe daycare in an impossible situation. He’s asking parents to choose between the safety of their children and keeping their jobs.
Everyone wants to get back to work and open up the economy.
Everyone wants to be safe.
But no one has been given enough information to make an informed decision.
And – as we learned yesterday – child care workers haven’t been given enough time to get ready. The Coalition for Better Childcare is demanding more time to prepare.
The impossible decision is hitting working moms hardest – women in particular are juggling multiple part-time jobs. As with all decisions Doug Ford has made during COVID-19 – he is not listening to those who need the most help.
Doug Ford must immediately:
- Give child care facilities the time they need to ensure workers are prepared and spaces are safe;
- Give child care facilities adequate funding to purchase needed PPE;
- Share details of who he is getting medical advice from;
- Share nursing home incident reports; and
- Reassure parents that our children will be safe.
Doug Ford has been consistent on only one thing – he’s keeping Ontarians in the dark about how he is making decisions. He refuses to share incident reports at nursing homes and refuses to share the names of those who he says are advising him on the fight against COVID-19.
By keeping parents in the dark, Doug Ford is showing us again that he is out of touch and not listening to what parents and families need to feel safe and make informed decisions.
With the virus now spreading fastest among the younger population – now up to 25% of total rates – this makes decisions even more difficult.
We need a strong economy. And getting our children back into care is an essential step to make that happen. But if we get it wrong, the longer-term results will be devastating.