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That’s practically nothing next to the province’s $312 billion in already accumulated net debt, so what the hell. Add it to the pile, and the kiddos can pay it off with interest at some point down the line. Think of it like OSAP for toddlers.

The policy arrived with a supporting paper from University of Toronto economist Gordon Cleveland, who attempts to answer one of the most obvious questions: why would kids of this age specifically get a “universal” daycare plan, while kids of other ages would continue to get means-tested subsidies?

“Preschool-aged child care is already very popular and most families seek out good quality group experiences for their children in the year or so before kindergarten,” Cleveland writes. “Making child care free would help all families with child care affordability in the years immediately before kindergarten.”

Well, yeah, but that rather goes without saying.

“Starting with preschool age makes sense in other ways,” Cleveland continues, promisingly. “There is already a large licensed capacity of child care available to serve children of this age, so shortages would be less acute than for other age groups.”

So … it would be easier. It would, presumably, be significantly cheaper than the government diving in with its pocketbook immediately after parents’ leave runs out. Perhaps Ontario’s budget, to be tabled Wednesday with up to $8 billion in deficit spending, will map out the Liberals’ ultimate vision. But Cleveland’s seems to be an Ontario where daycare for older and younger children would be means-tested, while daycare for children ages two-and-a-half to four would be “universal.”