Again, having not been here at the time that decisions may have been made about this, I can't speak around whether or not direction was provided. What I can tell you is that there certainly is a body of research that links not-for-profit care with the provision of high-quality care. What the legislation and the bilateral agreements reflect, or certainly the bilateral agreements, is that for-profit and private care do play a role in the provision of high-quality child care in Canada. The bilateral agreements provide space for that.
On March 7th, 2023. See this statement in context.