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Child care advocates say it is time B.C. catches up with Ontario and bans daycare waiting list fees, which can cost parents hundreds of dollars without guaranteeing a spot.

The Ontario government banned the fees in September 2016, ordering licensed child care centres and home child care agencies to “no longer accept payment to place a child’s name on a waiting list that may or may not lead to the child being offered child care,” whether or not the fee was refundable.

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But in B.C., where a shortage of child care spaces has some parents putting their children’s names on multiple lists, hundreds of centres still charge fees or deposits, which advocates say can range from $20 to $200 each.

The B.C. Ministry of Child and Family Development said in an emailed statement that child care facilities can use waiting list fees or deposits at their discretion.

The ministry recently added questions about the fees to an annual survey of licensed child care providers, and found that about 69 per cent of more than 4,400 respondents kept waiting lists. Roughly 13 per cent of the providers with lists charged a fee or deposit, however, about 45 per cent of them said they would be refunded, according to the ministry.