I stand here today as a grandmother filled with pride, celebrating my grandson Greyson’s fifth birthday. His smile, his energy are captivating.

Grandchildren provide a line of sight on issues that may otherwise go unnoticed by grandparents, shining a light on a pressing issue affecting families across Ontario—the challenge of securing child care.

In our province, despite promises of new child care spaces, families continue to struggle due to the slow and unclear rollout of these initiatives. The reality in the Niagara region, and everywhere, is a growing wait-list of over thousands of names, sounding an alarm bell to the urgent need for accessible, affordable child care options.

This struggle is compounded by the fact that while some steps have been taken, like wage increases for early childhood educators, we still see a significant gap in support and resources for all child care workers. The slow rollout in Ontario is primarily responsible for the lack of subsidized spots, severely impacting the availability and quality of care.I know there are many grandparents in this chamber. So from one grandparent to another, we must accelerate our efforts, provide clear direction, and ensure that every family in Ontario has access to the child care they desperately need.

Happy fifth birthday, Greyson James Walter Uhryn. You are a symbol of the bright future we are fighting for. Grammie hopes all your wishes come true.