Jackie Knough says it’s a vicious cycle: the cost of living keeps going up, but many parents can’t return to work because there aren’t enough child care spaces in town.

As executive director of Our Kids Count, a grassroots organization in Thunder Bay, Ont., she sees the effects of the affordability crisis firsthand.

“In one morning at a community breakfast, we could see 200 people,” Knough said. “We are seeing more and more families accessing our food cupboard and our emergency services that we haven't seen in the past, and so this is alarming.”

Our Kids Count provides programming to children and families in financial need on the city’s south side. This summer, it opened 26 licensed child care spaces at 704 McKenzie St., which displaced the organization’s community kitchen program. LI

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