Scarborough daycare gives parents one-day’s notice of its closure

Parents shed tears, comforted each other and expressed their anger outside a Scarborough daycare Friday morning after the centre gave one day’s notice of its plan to close permanently.

The board of directors of Progress Childcare, a non-profit and licenced centre at 1950 Kennedy Rd. near Highway 401, posted a letter Thursday informing families the daycare would be closing Friday as of 6 p.m.

“Progress Childcare (Scarborough) Inc. will close its doors for the final time and cease all operation due to severe financial difficulties,” the letter to parents said.

The centre has been providing childcare to mostly low-income families for three decades. About 90 families are now scrambling to find another space and 25 daycare workers are out of a job.

Any hope of finding a solution faded during talks Friday afternoon. The city doesn’t have the cash but can provide administrative assistance to try and keep the doors open.

“We do not have an emergency fund,” said Elaine Baxter-Trahair, general manager of City of Toronto Children’s Services.

The staff members at Progress Childcare 2 said they are committed to working Monday — for free. Their pay period ended Friday.

The city said the daycare was at capacity and was receiving all of its subsidies, so the question that remains is: how did the volunteer board end up in such financial trouble?

An emergency meeting will be held on Sunday to try and figure out a plan for parents and daycare workers.

Two daycare centres in the area don’t have the room to accept the now-displaced kids, parents and Progress Childcare workers said.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with my kid. I’m working from eight o’clock in the morning to eight o’clock in the evening every day almost. So, I don’t know. The other daycare there (pointing down the street), it’s full,” a mother named Clarissa said, holding back tears.

“And I don’t have anybody here — it’s me, my husband and my son, that’s it.”

Another mother named Varitha said she’s in a similar situation.

“What are we going to do? We don’t have any family here. Where am I going to leave my children when I go to work? They can’t give me a day off,” she said.

Daycare worker Maria Wisniowska said “chronic underfunding” of childcare centres is a big issue. She said the Progress childcare workers soon to be out-of-a job provided essential support for dozens of families.

“We are their families,” she said. “We are the ones they come to and they trust us.” 

Staff members said one big sign of trouble emerged before the shocking and sudden announcement — their cheques were bouncing.

“People were being asked not to cash their cheque right away so we filed a grievance and we came in and we met with representatives of the board to find out what was going on,” Janet Teibo of CUPE Local 2484 said.

Daycare workers, parents and kids held signs of protest, asking Mayor Rob Ford to step in and help.

“Right now we need the city to come in. We need Mayor Rob Ford to come and help us,” Wisniowska said.

“These parents are the ones who elected him to represent us .. to be here for us. So now it’s his turn to come and do his job.”