Ontario signed a $ 10-a-day childcare agreement with the federal government in March and promised to cut fees by up to 25 percent to a minimum of $ 12 a day, retroactively from April 1.
Parents, the county said at the time, will only start receiving discount checks in May.
But until this week most of the childcare facilities in GTA could not be registered in the program.  Officials said they had to consult with licensed childcare operators and set up an application process, resulting in delays.
On Wednesday, the City of Toronto announced that it was finally ready to start accepting applications for the Early Learning and Child Care funding program across Canada.
The application process will open on June 23 and licensed childcare providers will have until September 1 to register.
“Developing policies and applying for licensed childcare providers for the Early Learning and Child Care funding program across Canada has been a daunting task, but I’m excited to be at the point where we can start the application process.  Toronto Children Services Director General Shanley McNamme said in a statement.
“I encourage all licensed childcare providers to learn more about this funding and to consider how it will support the families they serve.”
Eligible childcare providers must be licensed and provide services to children under the age of six or to children under the age of six from 30 June.
More information on how to apply for the program can be found on the city website.
Once a facility is approved under the program, the parents of the children in the kindergarten will be sent the discount check.
The application process also opened in York and Peel this week.  Durham was the only area in the GTA to start accepting applications earlier.
Earlier this week, only 11 municipalities in Ontario had applied for the program, with at least one expert saying cities had to deal with an information gap following the joint agreement.
The $ 13.2 billion childcare program hopes to see a 50 percent reduction in fees by January 1, 2023. The fees will continue to fall again in September 2024 before finally reaching $ 10 a day next year.
With files by Chris Fox