The Ontario government is proposing measures aimed at boosting safety at child-care facilities, after an SUV crashed into a daycare north of Toronto, killing a toddler and injuring six other children.
Three staff members were also hurt in the crash on Wednesday at First Roots Early Education Academy in Richmond Hill, Ont.
The boy who died was just 1 1/2 years old, police said. The other children, aged 18 months to three years old, were brought to hospital with a range of injuries. Police said two of them were still in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon.
Education Minister Paul Calandra said the government was proposing that operators and municipalities must prevent the use of parking spaces immediately adjacent to entryways, windows and exterior walls of classrooms or playgrounds at child-care facilities.
Calandra said accessible spaces and child-care facilities operating out of private homes would be exceptions.
He added that he has directed his ministry to work with service managers, inspectors and service providers to identify "vulnerabilities" to be addressed ahead of upcoming legislative changes.
"Our government will make any necessary legislative or regulatory amendments to municipal or landlord restrictions that currently prevent the installation of protective barriers, such as bollards, planters, elevated curbs and other physical infrastructure, to protect children and workers in these settings," Calandra said in a statement posted on social media.
The First Roots Early Education Academy said it was "in a state of shock" after the crash.
"We wish to share our gratitude for the outpouring of support and sympathy and want to thank the emergency services personnel who assisted the affected children and their families, as well as our staff members," it said in a statement on social media.
"We ask that our community be given privacy to grieve and recover in this unimaginably difficult time."
Vinay Kumar Gupta, who was arrested at the scene in Richmond Hill, faces one count of dangerous operation causing death and two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm. The 70-year-old was granted bail after a brief court appearance on Thursday.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said "at this time, there is no reason to believe the collision was deliberate." He called it a "devastating" and "traumatic" event, and one that would be felt across the region.
Gupta is scheduled to make his next court appearance on Oct. 16.
