Black Habits - Ontario to get 25,000 new day-care spots

About 25,000 new licensed day-care spaces will become available in Ontario over the next three years, the provincial government said Thursday. Municipalities won't have to foot any of the bill for the new spaces, thanks to a recent $1.1-billion agreement with the federal government.

Children and Youth Services Minister Mary Anne Chambers said the move will save municipalities more than $208 million over the next three years, because they won't have to pay 20 per cent of the cost of new spaces as they've done in the past. She called the program a "massive expansion" compared to the existing day-care network in the province. The federal funding will also help the province: Attract and keep qualified day-care workers. Develop other early learning and child-care programs. Pay for universal newborn screening to identify developmental issues early. More than 4,000 subsidized day-care spaces were created in 2004-2005. The new funding will mean 5,000 new spaces will be created in the city of Toronto this year alone, at a cost of $268 million. Child-care advocates called Thursday's announcement a significant improvement over past efforts in Ontario. However, some wonder what will happen when the initial three-year period is up.

Note: CBC News Last updated Jul 28 2005 12:07 PM EDT