Private Vaughan daycare centre shut down for health, safety violations

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 17, 2015
By Tim Kelly

A local private daycare has been shut down by provincial officials for a number of alleged health and safety violations caught on its own security camera.

Cudley Corner Child Care Centre, near Major Mackenzie Drive and Weston Road, was slapped with a Ministry of Education protection order last Friday and closed until further notice.

Centre staff are alleged to have “physically restrained infant children ... and forced food down the children’s mouths. The staff member also laid the children down flat ... when she fed the children, causing a choking hazard,” according to the protection order that said the alleged incidents occurred Nov. 5, 10 and 12.

The order, which is taped up on the inside of the door at the centre, alleges “another staff member also force-fed an infant child by pushing the child’s head back with her hand so that the child would eat. The staff member continued feeding the child even though the child was crying and kicking in distress.”

Concerns were also raised about sanitary practices at the centre.

It’s alleged that: “On Nov 5, 10 and 12, staff members fed infant children while the children were ... on the ground, nearby toys and play equipment instead of using high chairs and on Nov. 5, a staff member held a bib that made contact with a garbage can and then placed the bib back on a child.”

The lawyer for Cudley Corner, Symon Zucker, called the ministry’s description of the video: “false and misleading. The video simply does not support or corroborate the allegations,” said Zucker.

He said he is launching a court action to get the centre re-opened.

The complaint that led to the protection order against the daycare was filed by York Region Children’s Aid Society, according to Alessandra Fusco, spokesperson for Minister of Education Liz Sandals.

Cudley Corner is part of a chain of five daycares in the GTA. The Vaughan location, which has 96 spaces, opened in May 2013 and handles children from birth to six years of age.

Zucker said Cudley Care did suspend two employees after the ministry’s investigation last Thursday and did agree to make a number of changes as requested by ministry staff.

“The following day, after being told by the ministry people, ‘Don’t worry about it, just follow recommendations,’ the director ... arrives and does a protection order, which essentially suspends the licence,” said Zucker.