Ontario announces $2.1 million investment in child care centre at St. Teresa of Calcutta

Minister Stephen Lecce and WECDSB officals outside St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic School in Windsor, Ont. (courtesy Ontario government)

Windsor, Ont. -

The Ontario government is investing $2.1 million into a new child care centre addition to a Windsor Catholic school.

The province announced the investment Wednesday as part of its capital investment program to build more childcare spaced. The government granted the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board approval to tender the addition to St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Elementary School.

“These new child care spaces at St. Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Elementary School will come as welcome news to the working families of our community," said Fulvio Valentinis, chair of WECDSB. "We're very grateful for the provincial funding that made this project a reality, and I'm sure the parents who will benefit from it will certainly appreciate it too.”

Some highlights of the child care centre addition include 73 new licensed child care spaces and four new child care rooms.

The province says it is also providing a 20 per cent enhancement of the Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit for 2021. This will increase support from $1,250 to $1,500 per family.

“Child care is critically important to working parents,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “By funding the construction of additional child care spaces at St. Teresa of Calcutta, our government is delivering access to more choice and real support to Windsor families, while continuing to focus on affordability by enhancing the Ontario Child Care Tax Credit for every child up to $1500.”

The province says it will also be granting more than $1.6 billion in targeted COVID-19 resources for the upcoming school year to offer supports in mental health, reading and math for students.