♪ [dramatic]
>> Erica: This week
on marketplace...
we take you inside daycares.
>> Do you have first aid?
CPR certification?
>> Well, I've been doing
this for many years.
>> Erica: They should be one
of the safest places children
spend time.
>> That's where they play,
all around here. Right here.
>> Erica: But we reveal a
patchwork system.
>> Anybody can provide childcare
and that's really wrong.
>> Erica: With no rules,
potential dangers, and people
breaking the law.
>> Erica: We're concerned
about your kids' safety
in your daycare.
♪ [theme]
>> Erica: We're going
undercover checking out
daycares, to see what goes on
when parents aren't around.
Searching for a space
of our own, we'll test
if the places trusted
to look after kids are safe.
The people qualified.
>> Thanks, hi.
>> It's a bit noisy right now.
>> That's ok.
>> Erica: We investigate 20
daycares.
Starting at this Toronto home.
>> Erica: First impressions?
It doesn't look much like a
daycare.
The TV's on, three children
in a cluttered kitchen,
and we're told there's space
for more kids.
>> Erica: So we ask for a tour.
>> Erica: It starts in the
basement playroom.
Pretty small area
and no windows.
>> Erica: And check out
where the kids nap!
>> Erica: There's barely
room to move.
>> Erica: Seems like it's more
for storage than
sleeping babies.
>> Erica: And worse, no other
way out in case of a fire!
>> Erica: Back upstairs,
things don't get any better
with the outdoor play space.
>> Erica: It's a parking pad
in a laneway.
>> Erica: This is where
children here run around.
Ride their bikes.
And daycares like this are not
unusual.
Across Canada, there are so
few licensed daycare spots,
there's only room for 20% of
kids who need looking after.
Most children go to unlicensed
or private daycare, an
unregulated industry, where no
one's checking up.
And sometimes, those daycares
make startling news.
>> A 14-month-old baby dies
at a home daycare.
>> A daycare operator has been
charged in the sudden death
of a baby boy
>> Tonight a Yorkton teenager
is accused of sexual assault
involving a local daycare.
>>Erica: So how much do parents
know about who's keeping an eye
on their kids?
We commission a
national survey.
Polled more than a thousand
mom's and dad's.
And discover parents are often
in the dark.
>> Erica: When we ask "Do all
daycares have to meet standards
or regulations?"
75% say yes, or they don't
know.
Truth is, only licensed
daycares have to meet certain
standards.
We want an expert's take on
our survey and hidden camera
test so, we head to one of
Canada's top childcare
researchers.
>> Erica: Hi, Martha? Erica.
>> Hi Erica. Nice to meet you.
>> Erica: Martha Friendly runs
a research centre for Early
Childhood Education.
>> Erica: Do you think most
people realize anyone can hang
out a shingle in this country
and run an unlicensed daycare?
>> I think most people think
that there is much more
government oversight
than there actually is.
>> Erica: So that's the
playroom, no windows.
So what does she think of the
first place we check out?
>> Oh wow, that is dismal.
>> Erica: So they sleep in a
room that has no windows, no
door to get outside.
>> That's not where children
should be spending their days.
And I think this really
illustrates why, in
regulations, there is oversight.
And somebody comes and says,
"No, no, you need
to have a fire door.
And you need to have windows."
>>Erica: So this
is perfectly legal?
>> Yes it is perfectly legal
and that is what a lot of
people are doing.
>> Erica: Anyone can run an
unlicensed daycare in this
country; there's only one rule.
You can't look after more kids
than your province allows.
>> Erica: And why bother with
a license when not having one
can be so lucrative.
>> Erica: With five kids, this
place would bring in $4,000
a month.
>> Erica: A lot of money when
you consider credentials
aren't required.
>> Erica: And when it
comes to her safety training,
just listen.
>> Erica: She just said in an
emergency she'd call 9-9-1.
>> Erica: Makes us wonder how
often unlicensed daycares
don't have safety basics.
In our survey, we ask parents
using unlicensed care if the
person looking after their
child has CPR and First Aid
certification.
Almost one-third say there's
no safety training or they
don't know.
>> Erica: Serious consequences,
if a child chokes or hurts
themselves,
Which is why in most licensed
daycares, safety training's
mandatory.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: Back on hidden
camera our test continues,
in another home daycare.
>> Erica: At first there seem
to be more adults milling
around than children.
>> Erica: But then we spot a
toddler at the top of the
stairs.
No baby gates in sight.
She tells us she's looking
after 3 kids who get the run
of the house.
>> Erica: Doesn't look much
like a daycare to Martha
Friendly.
>> If you are caring for
children, you should be
focusing on caring.
Not having them traipsing
around the house incidentally,
while your friends or
neighbours or whoever they
were, are coming and going.
>> Erica: And when it comes
to this daycare worker's
credentials,
>> Erica: Unapologetically she
tells us she has none.
>> Erica: She says she's just
a mom who runs a home daycare.
>> She can be a fine mom but
it is different to be taking
care of others people's
children which is why I think
then things like training
become more important.
It's not your own children.
You're actually doing -- it's
an economic activity.
>> Erica: Training in early
childhood education
is important because
the early years are key.
So we survey parents about
that, too.
Ask if the person looking
after their kids has training
or qualifications in early
childhood education. 58% tell
us no or again - they just
don't know.
And we're about to uncover
more problems.
We find a daycare in a Toronto
neighbourhood with plenty of
young families,
>> Erica: Gloria de Melo runs
the daycare.
>> Erica: Kids are everywhere.
All 3 years old or younger.
But wait a second, in Ontario,
daycares can't have more than
5 kids unless they're licensed.
>> Erica: But Gloria's husband
Sultan Jaffer reassures us all
these kids aren't the norm.
>> Erica: He says some kids
are just here for a short
visit from their second
daycare nearby.
But we're not convinced that's
what's going on.
When we watch parents doing
morning drop off.
There is Gloria opening up the
daycare and child #1.
There is 2, 3, 4, 5, wait a
second 6, 7, 8, 9, all told 10
children go inside!
>> Erica: We show childcare
expert Martha Friendly.
What's the concern of having
more than 5, why is that
illegal?
>> It's a situation where
nobody is looking at the space
to see if it is safe whether
there are fire doors, whether
there is, you know, exits
whether anybody, is there
allergy procedures.
So that is why they try to
limit what is allowable in
terms of the numbers of kids.
>> Erica: Something we're sure
Gloria De Melo already knows
given her history.
>> Investigators say they were
surprised with how many kids
they found inside the
in-home daycare.
>> Erica: Yep.
Gloria De Melo's been caught
before with too many kids.
Authorities shut down her home
daycare after counting 26 kids
inside and charged her for
running an illegal daycare.
May not be surprising that
she's back at it.
10 kids equals up
to $10,000 a month.
>> Erica: When we come back,
driving kids with no car seats?
And angry parents react.
>> I can make you shut it off.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We're taking you
inside unlicensed daycares.
So far the places we've
seen are substandard.
Even illegal.
Others we visit might look
okay but we find rules broken
there, too!
Here we're told the daycare is
licensed.
But when we check it's not.
And here, her credentials
check out.
>> Erica: But again we discover
more kids than the law allows.
So how are they different
from licensed daycares
that have rules to follow?
To find out, we catch up with
this team from an Ottawa
licensing agency.
They drop by licensed daycares
to make sure standards are in
place.
Oh wow we got four kids.
There's a list of requirements
to meet.
Like weekly schedules.
Proof of credentials.
A safe environment.
All the rooms get the once over.
>> All stairs need baby gates.
>>Erica: Making sure children
are safe.
If a daycare's unlicensed, the
only rule to break is about
the numbers.
Through "Access to
Information" we discover in
Ontario alone there've been 757
complaints in the last 3 years.
All about daycares with too
many kids.
That was the case in an Ottawa
suburb where we head to meet a
family dealing with the
fallout.
>> Erica: Hi Melanie.
>> Hi Erica come on in.
>> Erica: As soon as Melanie
and Alain Audette found out
they were expecting their first
child, they got on Ottawa's
10,000 long waitlist for
licensed daycare.
They waited 19 months, heard
nothing, so they put their son
Jeremie in an unlicensed home
daycare.
>> Erica: So you really did
your due diligence looking for
a place?
>> I think we really, really
did.
I would show up with my list
of questions - and I had at
least thirty questions on my
list - and sat down and asked
all my questions.
>> Erica: Asked all the right
questions but before long
things started to slip.
>> We'd ask her what do you
have planned for the day?
And we wouldn't get an answer.
Sometimes we didn't even know
he was going out for a playdate,
like the day of July 28th.
>> Erica: That's the day
Jeremie's daycare brings him
on an outing without
permission.
>> They head to the backyard
of this home daycare.
Where there are 30 other kids.
That's Illegal.
No one notices when Jeremie
falls into the pool and drowns.
Alain gets the call at work.
>> I received a voicemail from
her and I called her back and
basically that's when I learned
that he had jumped in the big
pool.
>> And then he called me at
work and the shock of my life.
He told me Jeremie had jumped
in the pool at Wendy's and I
didn't even know what to think.
I -- we didn't even know he was
going there.
>> Erica: Which is why Alain
and Melanie Audette pushed for
an inquest after Jeremie's
death.
They want all daycares to be
licensed, meet safety
standards.
Jurors at the inquest agreed,
three months ago, they called
on the Ontario government
to create more licensed
daycare.
>> It's very important for us
as now we do have other
children and we want to make
sure that we do the right
steps to make sure that
they're safe.
>> Erica: But will government
listen?
We discover that Jeremie's is
the fourth Ontario inquest
calling for more oversight.
Frustrating for childcare
researcher Martha Friendly.
>> It's about time we had
enough quality licensed
childcare, so that families
wouldn't be in this kind of
situation.
The federal government and
provincial governments really
need to get together to make
that happen.
>>Erica: We ask for an
interview with Ontario's
minister in charge
of child care.
If someone could please
call us back.
To find out why so
many parents still have no
choice but to use unlicensed
care.
>> Erica: Instead, we get a
statement, saying the
government is "working to
improve and modernize the
child care sector in Ontario,
and have helped to create
90,000 childcare spaces since
2003."
>> Erica: But clearly not
enough.
After our call the province
does tell us, it's now
investigating the two daycares
Gloria de Melo and her husband
Sultan Jaffer run.
And, there's more.
When we dig into their
background, we learn Sultan
Jaffer is charged in connection
with a criminal ring allegedly
bilking a bank out of
2 million dollars.
He's due in court this spring.
His charges are not connected
to kids but don't you want to
know who's looking after yours?
In our survey, when we
ask parents if the person
looking after their kids has
a police background check 66%
of them say no, or they don't
know. In licensed daycare
everyone is screened.
And when we watch Sultan we
notice something strange.
On several days he walks kids
from their second daycare to a
van parked nearby.
He loads them in, including an
infant and is gone for about
10 minutes, before arriving at
their other daycare.
And when our cameraman checks to
see if the children have been
transported safely,
incredibly there's no sign of
car seats.
Not here.
Nowhere.
Not only illegal, dangerous.
When we come back, we go
looking for answers.
What about transporting kids
without car seats?
And so do some parents.
>> I'm very angry about what you
guys are doing.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We've been taking you
inside unlicensed daycares,
including this one owned by
Gloria De Melo.
It's illegal and her husband
is moving kids from his daycare
to hers in a van with no
car seats.
A crash with no protection on
this snowy day, any parent's
worst nightmare.
We want to know why they're
putting kids at risk.
We ask Gloria De Melo for an
interview.
But don't hear back.
So, we catch up with her
heading into the daycare.
Hi Gloria, Erica Johnson
from marketplace.
Just answer a couple
of questions.
We're concerned about the
kids' safety in your daycare.
Gloria, you know that's
illegal to have 10 kids
in your daycare.
Parents are trusting you with
the safety of their kids.
Why are you running an illegal
daycare?
What about transporting kids
without car seats?
Toddlers and infants, Gloria.
How safe is that for the kids?
You know that's illegal.
And it's dangerous.
Gloria may not be talking but
the conversation's not over.
Back at our van, we're
approached by a parent from
Gloria's daycare.
>> I'm very angry with what
you guys are doing.
>> Erica: He's knows about
our investigation and doesn't
like it.
>> I don't care.
>> Erica: She is running
something and putting the
safety of kids in danger.
That's why there are rules in
Ontario that you cannot have
more than five in a daycare,
unless they're licensed.
>> I understand that,
I understand that.
But I do not believe what she
does is wrong.
The kids will visit back and
forth between daycares.
>> Erica: You know some of the
kids that get brought over
from the other daycare,
they're being brought over
without car seats.
>> Not in a car ever
>> Erica: In a car.
We have seen them put the kids
in a van.
>> Do you actually have
that on video with kids being
put in a car without car seats?
>> Erica: Yes, we do.
>> I'd like to see it.
>> Erica: We offer to show our
footage to the parents of kids
involved.
Those who see it are angry.
But none want to go on camera.
Instead parents at the daycare
send us a statement saying
they agree that poor
judgement was used ...
but that Sultan and Gloria
"love our children and we
support and trust them with
their care."
>> Erica: Maybe so but until
governments step up, parents
across the country still have
no choice but to leave their
kids in places with no
oversight.
No safety checks.
Just questions about who's
watching the kid.
For questions you should ask
your daycare, check out the
Tip Sheet on our website.
