Introduction
Over the years, Canadian Businesses have been changing the way business is conducted. They have become more adaptable in order to provide more flexibility to the average employee. There are several factors impacting the way business is conducted today. Perhaps the most significant has been the increasing number of women in the working population resulting in dual-income households. This in turn has given rise to child care facilities in Canada and also raised the issue of having on-site child care for employees. The objective of this report is to investigate the bearings that implementing on-site child care could mean for a Canadian business. The scope is limited to exploring the opportunities and risks and does not take into consideration the financial cost of implementing and maintaining such facility.
Background
As of 2014, women represent 47.3% of the total work force in Canada, an increase of 10% since 1976 [Statistics Canada, 2015].

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 Thousands
Labour Force
18,450.5
18,619.6
18,809.5
19,037.8
19,124.5
Males
9,704.9
9,803.1
9,885.6
9,996.5
10,071.8
Females
8,745.6
8,816.5
8,923.9
9,041.3
9,052.7

Figure 1: Labour force characteristics by sex
This means that an increasing number of households in Canada are dual-income households. Furthermore, as of 2001, statistics show that 65.8% of working women have children under the age of 2 years at home. [Statistics Canada, 2003]. There has also been a steady increase in child care facilities across Canada. In 2014, there were 1.20M regulated child care spaces, an increase of 213K spaces since 2012. [Friendly M.& Grady B.& Macdonald L.& Forer B, 2015]. Because of such high demand for child care facilities, more and more businesses are providing on-site child care for its employees.
Opportunities and Risks
When a business decides to offer on-site day care, many variables have to be taken into consideration. On one side, it can mean higher retention rates, engaged and satisfied employees resulting in an increase in productivity, and reduce absenteeism. Nevertheless, it can also be a huge liability risk for the business.

Conclusion
It is clear that Canada seriously lags behind the world when it comes to child care, on-site or otherwise; However, for the first time, child care was a key election issue in the 2015 federal election [Friendly M., 2015] and this could spell hope for many Canadian families with limited access to quality child care.

References
1. Statistics Canada. (2015, January 28). Labour force characteristics by sex and age group. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/labor05-eng.htm
2. Statistics Canada. (2003). Canada's Workforce: Paid Work. 2001 Census, Cana(2001004). Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/labor05-eng.htm
3. Friendly, M., Grady, B., Macdonald, L., & Forer, B. (2015, October 14). Preliminary data: Early childhood education and care in Canada 2014. Retrieved from http://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/15/10/preliminary-data-early-childhood-education-and-care-canada-
4. Friendly, M. (2015, November 06). A National Child Care System… ‘Because it’s 2015”. Retrieved from https://childcarecanada.org/documents/research-policy-practice/15/11/national-child-care-system%E2%80%9Cbecause-it%E2%80%99s-2015%E2%80%9D
5.