The provincial government has announced an investment of $1.6 million to create 49 new child care spaces at Sunderland Public School in Brock Township.

Former provincial infrastructure minister and Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott made the announcement last month.

Once complete, the project will provide one infant room, one toddler room and one preschool room through the province’s Early Years Capital Program.

“Our government is investing in the next generation of Brock Township and delivering real support to hard-working families with a $1.6 million investment that will create 49 new child care spaces,” said Scott.

The expansion at Sunderland Public School in Durham District School Board is part of a provincewide investment of more than $600 million to support school and child care spaces. The overall investment will support 78 school and child care related projects. As part of this investment, the province dedicated more than $95 million to create more than 3,000 new child care spaces through renovations and additions at 55 child care centres across Ontario.

“Access to childcare is vital to support our students and their families,” said Carolyn Morton, Trustee for the Townships of Brock, Scugog, Uxbridge. “I want to thank the Province of Ontario and welcome this timely investment to increase childcare capacity at Sunderland Public School. We look forward to starting construction on this project.”

Across Ontario, the province is supporting the creation of 40 infant rooms (400 new spaces), 59 toddler rooms (885 new spaces), 71 preschool rooms (1,704 new spaces), and seven family age group rooms (105 new spaces).

“After years of neglect under the previous government, we are stepping up to support families by investing in affordable and accessible child care that meets their needs,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce. “These investments are key to our economic recovery and further evidence of how our government continues to lead the way when it comes to investing in child care.”

As part of this plan to make child care affordable, safe and accessible, Ontario has committed up to $1 billion to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces over five years. To date, over 23,000 new spaces have been approved and builds upon Ontario’s existing and well-established child care infrastructure giving families more choices and flexibility.

The province has also allocated more than $600 million to support ventilation improvements in schools across Ontario as part of its plans for a safer return to school. The Durham District School Board has benefited from an investment of $9.4 million for ventilation improvements and has over 660 HEPA filter units in place.