Summary#

The Community and Public Services Committee carried Councillor J. Wright’s motion, directing City staff to prepare a report on possible safety requirements for home-based child-care businesses. The report is due in the first quarter of 2027 to that committee; this decision does not impose the requirements.

• The report must cover the implications of, and options for, requiring first-aid and CPR certification.
• It must also cover options for vulnerable sector background searches for providers, employees, and everyone aged 18 or older who lives in the home.

What it means for you#

• Home-based child-care businesses and people connected to them: This decision does not require anyone to get certified or complete a background search now. It directs City staff to report on possible requirements.
• Families and the public: The committee has not decided whether to introduce these requirements.

Money#

No cost estimate is included in the supplied material.

• The motion does not specify the cost of preparing the report or of any possible requirements.

What is unclear#

• What options City staff will recommend, and whether the committee will later consider requiring these checks.
• What “certified” means, who would provide certification, and how often it would be needed.
• How any background-search requirement would work, including timing, cost, oversight, and any exceptions.
• What requirements currently apply to these businesses; the supplied material does not provide that information.

Case for#

• A possible argument for examining these options is that first-aid and CPR certification, and background searches, may help inform decisions about safety in home-based child care. The motion asks City staff to assess the implications before the committee decides on any requirement.

Case against#

• The motion does not itself create safety requirements or say when the committee would decide whether to adopt any. Families and providers will not know from this decision what rules, if any, may follow.
• The motion leaves costs and practical details for the report to examine, including who would pay for certification or searches.