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Presented by Bernice Cipparrone and Kerry McCuaig, November 17, 2014, Toronto, Ontario.

The Atkinson Centre supports the general directions of the proposed legislation. It encourages swift action to curtail illegal child care provision. The role of the local system services manager is appropriately heightened but would benefit from additional tools. Expanding the mandate of school boards to secure programming for children to age 12 is essential. Attention must be paid the children with special needs. Changes to ratios in licensed family and group care should be put on hold and addressed as part of a full regulatory review.

Excerpt: "One of Ontario's greatest strengths is its people's talents and skills. Highlights of the government's investments in people include: Completing the rollout of full-day kindergarten and investing in child care modernization so that every child has the best start in life."

Report compares Canada's early education and child care programs to other developed economies.

Excerpt: "In 2011, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) ranked PEI’s new early learning and child care system second in Canada, behind only Quebec. Since then, our system has been further enhanced through continued education and training of our early childhood educators and ongoing support to the implementation of our provincial early learning curriculum framework. Earlier today, OISE released its Early Childhood Education 2014 Report, increasing PEI’s rating and moving it to a first place tie with Quebec."

Excerpt: "The proposed new measures include: The Family Tax Cut, a federal tax credit that will allow a higher-income spouse to transfer up to $50,000 of taxable income to a spouse in a lower tax bracket; Increasing the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) for children under age six; Expanding the UCCB to children aged six through 17; Increasing the Child Care Expense Deduction dollar limits by $1,000, effective for the 2015 tax year."

The province is being challenged to make significant changes to the way education is delivered in Nova Scotia. The Minister's Panel on Education released a report Oct. 30, that contains seven themes that represent what almost 19,000 Nova Scotians said are the most important issues to improve the system.

Excerpt: "For Emis Akbari, a post-doc at OISE’s Atkinson Centre, writing a children’s book was never a career aspiration. Reconnecting with childhood friends Brian and Laura Veloso via Facebook, she learned that their third child Owen, now six, had been born with Hyperplasmic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), a rare and complex congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is critically underdeveloped."

Letter to Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities emphasizes job preparation, improved post-secondary education quality and accessibility.

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is announcing details of the Family Choices Building Fund as part of the recently launched five-year plan to create more high-quality child care for families across the province, Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said today."

Excerpt: "Creation of the new Department of Education and Early Childhood Development: The best education systems integrate early learning activities with the formal education system. The new department will be responsible for the continuum of learning from infancy through high school. It brings together the teams that will spearhead initiatives in early childhood education, the introduction of full-day kindergarten and other advances throughout the primary, elementary and secondary systems."

Excerpt: "The new Poverty Reduction Strategy — Realizing Our Potential — will expand our poverty reduction efforts to reach more vulnerable people and will continue to reduce poverty in Ontario."

Excerpt: "Moving Forward on Child Care and the Early Years: Building on the successful implementation of full-day kindergarten, which will be fully implemented this year. As outlined below, you will continue to work with school boards, municipalities, First Nations, child care operators and parents to modernize, stabilize and strengthen the child care system and improve oversight; Overseeing the implementation of legislative and regulatory changes through the Child Care Modernization Act, 2014, if passed."