Lower licensed child care fees now in effect for Ontario families

I want to start by recognizing that February is Black History Month, a month where we honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their immense contributions, resilience, and strength. I want to thank you for your community engagement and for your valuable contributions to our culture and to the entire community of Orléans.

On Jan. 27, I attended the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the National Holocaust Monument with the Prime Minister and several of my colleagues where we paid tribute to more than six million Jews who were systematically persecuted & murdered in the Holocaust.

Jan. 25 marked the 13th Bell Let’s Talk Day, a reminder that we must continue to break the silence and remove the stigma surrounding mental health to truly have an open dialogue, allowing us to take care of ourselves and others.

As Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I was honoured to join Minister Fraser in Sturgeon Falls on Jan. 23 to announce that Canada has met its target of 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants outside Québec by 2022. This accomplishment also means that those newcomers are making a greater contribution to promote the French language and address the labour shortage, which will certainly help enhancing the vitality of Francophone minority communities across our country.

The Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF) was launched on Jan. 6, 2023, and will be open until Feb. 21, 2023. This is a one-time $400 million investment to help community service organizations, including charities and nonprofits adapt and modernize. Please visit Canada.ca-CSRF for eligibility.

Moreover, I was thrilled to see the government announce that, effective Dec. 31, 2022, fees for families in Orléans with children under the age of six at licensed child care operators in Ontario that have enrolled in the Canada-wide early learning and child care system will be reduced by an average of 50% compared to 2020 levels. The lower fee structure is supported by federal investments under Ontario’s Canada-wide early learning and child care agreement. As a result, families will be saving an average of about $6,000 per child per year. This is a significant milestone toward reaching an average of $10-a-day in early learning and child care fees by March 2026.

I am reaching out once again for your help in highlighting women and young girls in Orléans who demonstrated exceptional leadership through their volunteerism. The deadline to receive submissions has been extended to Monday, Feb. 20. You can request a nomination form by emailing my office at MarieFrance.Lalonde@parl.gc.ca

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