Concern for the privacy of bad daycare operators was Ontario’s shameful excuse. That’s why parents found it hard to learn about complaints of crowding in unlicensed centers. But the province’s privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian has effectively exploded that argument and Queen’s Park — at last — appears to be abandoning its lamentable policy.

A written statement issued by Education Minister Liz Sandals on Thursday indicates a decision has been made to free parents from having to jump through bureaucratic hoops for information they need to help keep their children safe. “Over the longer term, the ministry will put in place a searchable online function that will enable parents to access this information directly,” Sandals stated.

The apparent policy shift came after Cavoukian recently informed the ministry that privacy concerns shouldn’t be used to inhibit parents from learning about complaints leveled against unlicensed daycares operating in breach of the rules. Sandals’ announcement followed a Thursday afternoon meeting between provincial officials and counterparts from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. “The IPC has provided helpful advice to inform our approach,” she wrote.

Concern about overcrowding at unlicensed centres leapt onto the public agenda after the death of a 2-year-old girl at an unlicensed daycare in Vaughan last month. Such daycares are only allowed to handle five kids under 10 years of age, apart from an operator’s own, but 27 were present when that child died.

Ontario’s policing of daycare centres runs from rigorous to the exceedingly lax — depending on whether or not an operation is licensed. One might expect unlicensed centres to receive higher scrutiny, given that their regulations are looser, resulting in more potential problems. But the opposite is the case.

Licensed daycares must meet specific provincial standards. Complaint reports are publicly posted for 10 days, explaining what happened, and they’re available two years after that, on request. In contrast, hurdles confront any parent trying to access complaints about an unlicensed daycare.

Until recently, respect for an unlicensed operator’s privacy meant that people wishing to learn of complaints had to file a formal Freedom of Information request with the government. When there was an outcry over that rigmarole, the education ministry, which handles complaints about overcrowded unlicensed daycares, said parents could, instead, call their area Child Care Quality Assurance and Licensing Office. People are supposed to take comfort in the fact that CCQALO staff will handle requests on a case-by-case basis.

This is nonsense. Most Ontarians have never filed a Freedom of Information request and don’t know how to go about it. And it’s a good bet even fewer have ever heard of a Child Care Quality Assurance and Licensing Office. What’s needed is a clear and easily assessable online listing of complaints that have been lodged against Ontario’s unlicensed daycare centres.

That’s what Sandals is now promising to deliver “over the longer term.” The vague nature of when reform might actually happen is of concern, although ministry officials insist this is a priority.

The province is currently reviewing the Day Nurseries Act, which sets rules for the child care sector. But that broad modernization will likely take considerable time to deliver. And there’s no reason to delay, until then, public access to an online record of complaints about unlicensed daycares packed with too many children.

Parents should be given information necessary to make the right choices for their kids, and they need that system up-and-running in reasonable time.