N.W.T. government not actually sure they haven’t overpaid childcare providers

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-11-02 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Education, Social Services, Affordability, Finance, Governance]

An audit released in October revealed that the Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment distributed millions in early learning and child care funding without verifying staff hours, parent fee invoices, or attendance numbers. Operating with an annual budget of roughly $34 million—with approximately 80 per cent (over $27 million) allocated to early childcare funding—the department relied entirely on facility attestations and assumed 100 per cent enrollment for daycares opened after April 1, 2023. Consequently, the government cannot confirm if it overpaid providers or successfully met its commitment to an average daily $10 parent fee. Beginning November 1, the department is requiring licensed childcare facilities to submit receipts, attendance records, closure days, and verifiable documentation for staff wages and expenditures covering the past two years.

N.W.T. government unsure if it overpaid child-care providers

This article is new today!

Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-11-02 12:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Education, Social Services, Affordability, Governance]

An audit released in October by the Office of the Auditor General revealed that the Government of the Northwest Territories' Department of Education disbursed millions in child-care funding over two years without verifying attendance records, staff hours, or parent fee invoices. Operating on an approximate $34 million annual departmental budget where roughly 80 percent goes to early learning and child care, the department relied entirely on facility attestations and assumptions of 100 percent attendance for daycares opened after April 1, 2023. Consequently, the territorial government remains unsure if it overpaid providers or successfully achieved its $10-a-day parent fee reduction target. In response, the Department of Education instituted a new requirement effective November 1, mandating that licensed child-care facilities submit two years of historical receipts, attendance figures, closure days, and verifiable documentation for wages and operating expenditures.

Ottawa Commits Additional Funding for Federal Child Care Program in Ontario

Source: Ontario - Ministry of Education
Date: 2026-09-29 14:34:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, National, Education, Social Services, Affordability, Finance]

Ontario Minister of Education Paul Calandra announced that the federal government has extended additional funding to the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care program, maintaining current average child care fees at $19 a day with maximum caps at $22 per day until June 30, 2027. Between the 2021-22 and 2026-27 fiscal years, Ontario is investing approximately $34.5 billion in child care and early years programs, which includes $12.3 billion dedicated specifically to child care programs, fee subsidies, wage enhancements, EarlyON Child and Family Centres, and the CARE tax credit. Both governments have committed to ongoing discussions regarding long-term program sustainability beyond June 2027 to ensure continued stability for families and the child care sector.

Province and feds extending affordable child-care program in Ontario, but fees stay the same

Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-29 13:51:37.0
Tags: [National, Ontario, Education, Social Services, Affordability]

The federal government and the Government of Ontario have agreed to a four-year extension of the national affordable child-care program, backed by a funding envelope of nearly $12 billion plus a share of an additional $5.4 billion. Under the agreement, Ontario has committed to maintaining parent fees at an average of $19 a day—capped at $22—until June 30, 2027, falling short of the national program's $10-a-day goal. The province has created nearly 60,000 of its targeted 86,000 affordable child-care spaces as waitlists continue to grow across the province.