The Reality of Our Child Care Spaces
Many of the buildings where Toronto child care centres are located, often TDSB and TCDSB schools, lack air conditioning or effective cooling alternatives like large scale ceiling fans. The City of Toronto Hot Weather Plan for Child Care Centers suggests installing portable air conditioning units, limiting outdoor activities to mornings, and using shade structures, yet these solutions are not always practical due to cost or regulatory practices and the logistics of these buildings.
To make matters worse, many schools are surrounded by asphalt playgrounds and suffer from poor airflow, causing indoor temperatures to rise throughout the day and remain high overnight.
A Gap in Policy
Currently, Ontario’s Child Care Early Years Act does not set out specific requirements for air conditioning or the maximum indoor temperature in a child care program. You may have heard about concerns recently in the media as advocacy groups and others have been campaigning for change.
How You Can Help
We believe that every child deserves a safe and comfortable learning environment, especially during extreme weather. That’s why we’re inviting our families and community members to take action and help advocate for better standards in child care facilities.
Here’s how you can get involved:
• Sign the Ontario Federation of Labour petition to support their Heat Stress Campaign. For parents, families, and educators in our programs, we will have copies available in our child care centres. You can also sign the petition here: https://ofl.ca/action/the-heat-is-on/
Note: To sign the petition, you must print the form and sign by hand, then upload to the Google drive linked on the page above.
• Send a letter to your school trustee or your Municipal/Provincial representative. Feel free to use the copy from this article as a guide.
Find your school Trustee here: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/leadership/trustees
Find your Member of City Council here: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/members-of-council/
Find your MPP here: https://www.ola.org/en/members/current
Together, We Can Make a Difference
Your voice matters. By speaking up, we can help ensure that child care centres are equipped to handle extreme weather and provide safe, nurturing environments for our children. Thank you for being part of this important conversation.
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