Ontario’s proposed measures to boost daycare safety are welcome, but the province should be cautious not to impose a “blanket” solution given the diversity of programs in the province, a coalition that represents hundreds of child-care centres said Friday.
The province promised changes Thursday evening after a vehicle drove into a Richmond Hill daycare at pickup time on Wednesday, killing a toddler and leaving six young children and three adults injured.
York Regional Police said Friday that two of the injured kids were still in critical condition. A 70-year-old man is facing dangerous driving charges, and police have said they do not believe it was a deliberate act.
Education Minister Paul Calandra said the government is looking into legislative changes to restrict parking near windows and exterior walls of child-care facilities, and to require higher curbs and bollards in some areas.
Carolyn Ferns, the policy co-ordinator for the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care, said the tragedy left the community heartbroken and providers have already been thinking about how to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
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“I think it’s good to see that the government is also thinking about that,” she said in an interview Friday.
“Hopefully this is a time where, you know, everybody — the government, child care operators — will be reflecting on this and thinking … what can we do now to help make sure children are safe?”
Ferns said different daycares might need different safety measures. For some, it might a good idea to remove parking spaces outside their windows, while for others, a higher-elevation curb or the installation of bollards could be enough.
She said the ministry has to figure out what changes are “appropriate” for a variety of different types of businesses.
“And we need to make sure that the rules make sense given the different kinds of settings that we see in Ontario,” she said.
Ferns also stressed that any new requirements should come with financial support.
Daycares have fixed revenue, meaning they cannot make proposed retrofits without help, she said.
“We would need, you know, some funding and support for child-care programs to be able to implement this rule in settings across the board,” said Ferns.
She added that any new rules being developed should also address safety risks posed by the presence of busy roadways near daycares.
There should be enough space between streets and buildings, she said, and bollards should be required in some areas.
As the province works to expand child-care spaces, it should also work on fresh design guidelines for any new facilities that will be opened, she said.
Calandra said in a post on social media that he ordered his staff to work with inspectors and service providers to identify “vulnerabilities and take immediate actions” before any upcoming legislative changes.
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