For centres and agencies · 5 min

Payment fees and the CWELCC base fee: what Ontario allows

The short answer

For an eligible child in the Canada-wide system, a fee a family must pay in order to pay you, such as a charge on every pre-authorized debit, is part of the base fee and counts toward the cap. If families can choose another suitable way to pay at no charge, the fee is optional and is not a base fee. Even an optional fee may be barred where your service system manager allows no new fees, so ask your region before adding one.

Checked against e-Laws on Oct 26, 2026. Section numbers are O. Reg. 137/15 unless another instrument is named.

The rule (ss. 1(1), 77.2)

A “base fee” is any fee or part of a fee charged in respect of a child for child care, including anything a licensee is required to provide under the regulation or requires the parent to purchase from it, but not a non-base fee. A “non-base fee” is a fee for optional items or optional services, such as transportation or field trips, or a fee charged under the parent agreement when the parent fails to meet its terms, such as a late pick-up fee (s. 1(1)). A licensee enrolled in the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care System may not charge an eligible child a base fee higher than the lowest of $22 a day, its base fee on December 31, 2024 (if it was enrolled then), or the amount in the table to the section (if it was not), unless its service system manager, with the Minister’s authorization, has agreed a different base fee with it (s. 77.2(1) to (3)). An eligible child is, in general, a child until the last day of the month in which they turn six (s. 1(1)).

The regulation does not mention fees for processing payments.

A mandatory fee counts, whoever collects it

The Ministry’s licensing manuals (part 2.3 for centres; the same table for home child care agencies) list among base fees “registration fee, deposits, administration fees – any fees that are mandatory for a parent to pay in order to receive child care, even if the fee is received and processed by a third party (for example, a billing company)”. Among non-base fees they list “bank processing fees (such as for non-sufficient funds)”. And licensees “must consider all mandatory fees charged to parents/guardians when calculating their overall base fee.”

Read together: a charge on every payment that a family cannot avoid is a mandatory fee, so it is part of the base fee, whether the centre or a payment company collects it. A fee for a payment that fails, charged under the parent agreement, is a non-base fee.

When another way to pay makes it optional

Peel Region’s 2025 CWELCC guideline for centres names this case. Under what is included in base fees (Appendix 3) it lists “Mandatory annual handling fee for pre-authorized debit. If the fee is optional because there are other suitable payment methods available, it becomes a non-base fee.” It also lists “Parent apps for communication” as a base fee when families must use them.

A fee is optional when a family can pay another suitable way without it, for example by e-transfer or cheque; the parent handbook says which ways families may pay.

How a mandatory fee is counted

The manual’s method for a one-time fee: divide it by the days of service in a year, the year starting on the day the fee is charged, and add the result to the daily fee. Its example is a $500 registration fee over 250 service days, which adds $2 a day, so the daily fee can be at most $20 to stay at $22. A licensee already charging its full cap has no room for any mandatory payment fee, however small.

A new fee may be barred

Service system managers set conditions in their agreements, and an enrolled licensee complies with its agreement (s. 77.1(3)). York Region’s 2026 conditions say parent fees for eligible children are frozen at their March 2022 rates, so “registration fees and other non-base rate fees charged to parents cannot be raised or created after March 2022”, and that families should not see “surcharges from services that were originally part of base fees prior to the introduction of CWELCC”. Peel’s guideline says “You cannot introduce new mandatory fees or increase existing mandatory fees” and “You cannot charge non-base fees for programs and services previously included in your base fees” (section 4.4).

So a centre that paid its own payment costs before CWELCC and now wants to pass a fee to families may be refused under its agreement, even if the fee is optional. Ask your service system manager before you add one.

The parent handbook (s. 45(1)(a))

The handbook states the base fee and any non-base fees that may be charged, and whether the licensee is enrolled in the Canada-wide system; the payment methods that must be used and the schedule for payments; and the circumstances in which refunds or credits are given (s. 45(1)(a)(iii), (iii.0.1) and (iii.0.2)). A fee for one way of paying belongs there, with the way to pay without it.

Where the sources stop

O. Reg. 137/15 does not name payment or processing fees. The reading above rests on the Ministry’s manuals and two regions’ conditions.
Peel’s 2025 guideline is the only source read that names a pre-authorized debit fee. Read your own region’s guideline for the current year.
Other service system managers were not read; yours may set different conditions. Your agreement sets them, within the regulation, which prevails where the two conflict (s. 77.1(3) and (5)).
The cap applies to eligible children. The handbook rules apply to every child.
The Ministry and your service system manager decide; ask before charging a new fee.

Sources

O. Reg. 137/15 as consolidated on e-Laws (consolidation from July 1, 2026; last amendment O. Reg. 197/26). This guide explains the regulation in plain words; it is not legal advice, and the Ministry’s program advisors decide compliance.