The Toronto Star reported Friday that federations are considering providing the counties with hundreds of millions more in childcare facilities as part of a separate deal from the $ 30 billion childcare agreement for Ontario. remains the only refuge.  .
The newspaper reported that an anonymous top Ontario government official described the new money as a “game change”.
He also quoted a federal official as saying that the two sides “are well on their way” to reaching an agreement, most likely next week.
Asked about the development during a press conference in Ottawa on Friday, Ford declined to give specific details, but seemed to express confidence that an agreement had finally been reached.
His optimistic tone comes about three weeks after a federal official told CP24 that negotiations had entered their “next phase” following the submission of a long-requested action plan by the Ontario government.
Ford also suggested that an announcement of a deal could come “very, very soon” during a news conference with Prime Minister Justin Trinto last week.
“We are working very closely with the federal government.  “I always say we would not sign an agreement that does not work for the people of Ontario and that is what we are in,” Ford said on Friday.  “We have worked very closely with the federal government on so many different issues and we will finalize the agreement.”
The federal government has provided Ontario with $ 10.2 billion in funding to reduce the average cost of childcare by 50 percent by the end of 2022, bringing it to a further $ 10 a day by 2026.
But the county was reluctant to sign the deal, with Education Minister Steven Lecce previously questioning whether there was enough funding to actually cut costs to $ 10 a day on average within five years.
Meanwhile, parents in many counties are already saving hundreds of dollars a month.
Some have even been given large retroactive discounts.
Saskatchewan, for example, has cut fees by 50 percent since November and also plans to issue parental rebate checks retrospectively last July.
“Parents in Ontario paying overwhelming childcare loans could have received the $ 10-a-day childcare relief for months,” said NDP Child Care critic Bhutila Karpoc. was released on Friday afternoon.  “Instead, Doug Ford and Steven Lecce were late in signing an agreement with Ottawa, leaving families struggling in the dark about their plans, while every other province and region has signed.”
Federal officials previously told CTV News Toronto that more than $ 1 billion of the funding promised to Ontario was earmarked for fiscal year 2021-2022 and could “expire” if no agreement is reached by the end of this month.