This Sudbury, Ont., mother quit her job because she couldn't get affordable child care
CBC
Emilia Valente-Salhuana of Sudbury, Ont., quit her job at a career college because she couldn't afford private daycare, which isn't subsidized by the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) system.
"We don't have the funds to pay for a nanny or babysitter and we don't have family as well to provide care in the area," said the mother of a 16-month-old son. "So yeah, I had to quit my job."
Valente-Salhuana's long wait for a child-care spot isn't unique. Waitlists across Ontario have risen dramatically since the province signed on to the national $10-a-day program.
Valente-Salhuana's son has been on the city's child care registry since January 2023. She's expecting her second child in about a month.
The city says the average wait time for a daycare spot in Sudbury is now 23 months.
Valente-Salhuana said if she could get a spot in a licensed daycare, it would allow her to return to work.
"Right now we are struggling a little bit financially," she said.
"My husband does have a relatively good-paying job, but it's not enough. I need to get back into the workforce, whether it be 32 to 40 hours a week, just for us to kind of balance out a little better. It would make things easier."
Valente-Salhuana said she loved her work as a financial aid administrator at the private college.
"It was a pretty good-paying job."
To get a spot in one of the city's 75 licensed daycares, parents or caregivers have to register with the city's child-care registry.
"That online platform is monitored by children's services on a regular basis," said Miranda Mackie, manager of children's services for the City of Greater Sudbury.
"It allows us to capture real-time data about how many families we have waiting for care and in what age grouping as well."
Mackie recommends that parents get on the list as soon as they can, long before a child is born.
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