GRIMSBY — New changes to the way home daycares operate will force operators to raise their prices drastically or close their doors altogether.

Curently home daycare operators like Kathryn Kerby are able to care for up to five children under the age of 10 in their homes, not including their own children. The Liberal's Child Care Modernization Act, Bill 10, proposes to change that as well as introduce age restrictions. The new regulations will mean daycare providers can have a maximum of five children, including their own, and only two under the age of two.

Kerby, mother to Morgan, four, and Katelyn, one, will have to drop one of her clients and turn away another potential one to meet the requirements. She also faces the idea of having to drastically increase her rates to make up for the two daycare spots that her own children will now fill.

Kerby is a member of the Coalition of Independent Childcare Providers of Ontario which has staged protests across the province to raise awareness of the impending changes they claim will threaten 140,000 daycare spots. They also say home daycare rates will spike by 30 to 40 per cent as operators are left scrambling to fill lost revenue.

"We pay our mortgages, we pay our bills, this is not just babysitting, it's our livelihood," said Kerby, who opened her daycare in July. "We do programming with the kids. We are like centres but in a smaller environment."

The group warns the bill's passing would create havoc in Ontario.

The bill would replace the Day Nurseries Act, which passed in 1946 and has not been reviewed since 1983. The changes were spurred by four deaths of children over a period of seven months between 2013 and 2014. Last month Ontario Ombudsman issued an unprecedented 113 recommendations for improving safety for the estimated 823,000 children cared for in unregulated settings across the province. Many of those recommendations have already been addressed in Bill 10, which passed a second reading last month, including the limits on daycare providers with their own children under age 10.

The government says the new legislation would strengthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector, while increasing access to licensed child care options for families. In addition, the province says it would allow the them to immediately shut down a child care provider when a child's safety is at risk.

“Parents want to know their children are in a safe, nurturing environment," said Liz Sandals, minister of education upon announcing the legislation in July. "And parents need to know the government can intervene if their child’s safety is at risk. If passed, this legislation would help build a child care system that is high quality, seamless and meets the needs of parents and children.”

CICPO and Kerby say the government can ensure parents their children are safe by instituting a licensing system rather than imposing the new restrictions. Kerby said the legislation is unfair to the many home daycare providers who are providing a safe and nurturing environment for children.