**NDP NEWS RELEASE**

During question period on Wednesday, NDP Child care critic Doly Begum said Doug Ford is putting profits for corporate child care providers ahead of Northern and rural families that need affordable care today.

“Parents across Ontario need affordable, high quality, public, not-for-profit child care,” said Begum.  “Public dollars should go into care for our kids, not private profits for multinational companies. 

“But the premier seems more interested in helping corporate child care shareholders than parents or children.” 

Begum read testimonials from families in Northern Ontario that need affordable child care, and said that educators in Peterborough are worried that rural areas will simply be left without child care if the premier turns child care over to the private sector. 

“Lori is a parent in Thunder Bay who said ‘non-profit child care provides support and education for lots of families in our area and we need more of it. Giving money to big corporations isn’t going to help parents in Thunder Bay,’”  said Begum.

“Lynn is a grandmother from Kenora. She said ‘we need more reliable and affordable community child care in Kenora, not money going to foreign owned corporations.’

“Can the minister explain to families in rural and northern communities, in big cities, and everywhere in between, why she thinks giving money to big corporations is more important than safe, high quality, non-profit child care?”

Last week the Ford government tried to pit parents against each other, suggesting only parents and people from Toronto are concerned about the privatization of child care.