Designation of daycares

In February 2024, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, a French-language daycare in Toronto, announced the closure of one of its centres. This facility is a designated government agency under the French Language Services Act (FLSA). We quickly approached the organization and the government to obtain more information about the daycare’s compliance with the Act. At the time, we also received complaints regarding the potential closure. Two weeks after the announcement, the agency reversed its decision, and the site did not close.

Our analysis of these complaints revealed that the list of nearly 40 designated daycare centres in Ontario Regulation 398/93 does not reflect reality. This means the public does not have access to reliable information about where they can obtain services in French. We also found that the designated daycare centres themselves were not aware of their legal obligations under the FLSA.

Result : In May 2024, the Commissioner reminded the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Francophone Affairs of the obligations imposed by the FLSA with respect to the compliance of designated bodies.

He also urged ministries to act quickly to rectify the situation, and to ensure that the corrective measures do not reduce the level of French language services currently offered in Ontario.

We continue to follow up regularly with the ministries to receive progress updates.