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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 25 ,2 02 1 | 4 At Village Orthodontics in Oakville, we specialize in beautiful smiles using clear aligners and traditional braces. New Patients Welcome Schedule your complimentary consultation today! 647-496-1424 2-2983 Westoak Trails Blvd. Oakville villageortho.ca Book your Personalized Smile Consultation today active map showing coverage of child care, most Oakville dis- tricts provide care for at least half of children ages zero to three. One district appears to have a surplus of 1,079 spaces for 615 children. Only one district in town has a low coverage rate of 35 per cent. However, COVID has placed enormous pressures on the child- care sector. The March the CCPA published Sounding the Alarm, which measures the effects of the pandemic on child care across the country. Between February and No- vember of 2020, there was a 42 per cent drop in enrolment in Oak- ville child-care spaces, higher than Ottawa (35 per cent) and just under than Edmonton with 43 per cent. "The data clearly show that high fees are a driving force in how likely parents are to stop us- ing child care," reads the CCPA's report. "This is especially well il- lustrated in the province of Que- bec, where the operationally funded, low-fee centres are expe- riencing small enrolment drops, if any, whereas the tax-credit- funded, market-fee, for-profit centres are experiencing sub- stantial enrolment drops." Quebec City, Laval, Lon- gueuil, Gatineau and Montreal all have drops of between zero to 5 per cent. Ten per cent of Oak- ville's care centres reported an increase in fees due to the pan- demic. The fees themselves in Oak- ville are some of the highest among those surveyed. Among the 37 cities making up the sam- ple, Oakville's median monthly fees in 2020 were the second most expensive for preschool-aged (be- tween ages two and school-aged) children at $1,237. Toronto was first at $1,250. Oakville's median monthly toddler (between 18 months and two and a half years) fee is at $1,280, placing them sixth highest in the sample size. For fees in- volving infant care, the town placed seventh at $1,454. By comparison, in Longueuil, a city similar to Oakville in pop- ulation, the median monthly fee is $181 for all categories. In April of this year, the feder- al government promised $30 bil- lion over five years toward af- fordable child care. The goal of the fund was to reduce fees by 50 per cent for regulated child care and an average of $10 per day for spaces. "In my career as an HR profes- sional, I've witnessed the incred- ible financial and emotional stress that families experience. All over getting quality afford- able daycare," said Haslett- Theall. "Having enough quality and affordable child-care infra- structure enables families to make healthy personal choices." NEWS Continued from page 3 Janet Haslett-Theall photo OAKVILLE HAS SOME OF HIGHEST CHILD-CARE COSTS Coucillors Pavan Parmar (left) and Janet Haslett-Theall want to make childcare more affordable. Pavan Parmar photo Hours: Mon-Thurs 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Fri 8:30 am - 1:30 pm