Policy Monitor

Minister of Finance Eric Girard delivered Budget Speech 2020-2021 on March 10, 2020.

Excerpt: "The Parental Sharing Benefit gives new parents, including adoptive and same-sex parents, more time to share the responsibility of raising their children. Eligible parents who agree to share benefits are now able to access an additional five weeks of Employment Insurance standard parental benefits, or an additional eight weeks if they choose the extended parental benefit option. This means more flexibility for families."

Excerpt: "Effective April 1, the Government of Alberta will no longer administer a child care accreditation system parallel to licensing. No other province in the country duplicates licensing and accreditation.

Eliminating accreditation lets child care providers spend more time with kids and families. Child care centre operators and workers have been clear that the accreditation process added unnecessary red tape, causing workers to spend hundreds of hours on paperwork rather than focusing on care for children."

Excerpt: "Budget 2020-21 includes an increase of $17.5 million, for a total investment of $51.4 million. That makes Nova Scotia a leader in Atlantic Canada in pre-primary education. Families have told us that transportation would make it easier to access pre-primary, particularly in rural Nova Scotia. Bus service for all eligible pre-primary children begins this September with new funding of $4 million under Budget 2020-21. Creating this opportunity for young children also means more parents can attend school themselves or return to the workforce and contribute to family income."

Excerpt: "In 2020-21, $123.0 million is allocated to provide funding for the certification of child care staff based on educational qualifications; support the recruitment and retention of qualified and educated staff through professional development and tiered wage top ups; and the licensing, support and monitoring of child care programs under the Child Care Licensing Act. "

Excerpt: "Launching this fall, the new BC Child Opportunity Benefit will help lift up thousands of kids and give them the opportunities they deserve, now and down the road.
Families with one child will be eligible to receive up to $1,600 annually. For two children, that goes up to $2,600, and it's up to $3,400 for three kids. People can bank on this tax-free support up until their child's eighteenth birthday. On top of the new benefit, this will be the first full year that people won't have to pay the unfair MSP premium. Together, these two measures could save families thousands of dollars that they can put towards what really matters: setting up the next generation for success.

For many, that starts with access to affordable, high-quality child care. Child care for all is closer than ever to becoming a reality in our province. Thousands of new licensed child care spaces are opening, and some parents are saving nearly $20,000 annually. Budget 2020 builds on the progress with total investments reaching $2 billion over three years for child care in British Columbia. Child care is critical to achieving equality in the workplace, helping to close the gender pay gap, and giving more parents — particularly women — the opportunity to take their careers to the next level.

We are also investing in B.C.'s early childhood educators — again, almost entirely women — with more bursaries and increased wages. Additionally, B.C.'s minimum wage will rise to more than $15 per hour by 2021. For the almost 140,000 people who currently earn minimum wage, more than half of which are women, this will provide a much-needed boost."

Excerpt: "This legislation puts into the School Act – for the first time – recognition that school boards can directly operate before and after school care. Currently, if boards want to offer child care they must offer it through a separate, licensed provider. Boards will be required to have a child care policy in place that addresses reconciliation and inclusive education commitments, while prioritizing available space on their properties not being used for K-12 students."

Excerpt: "Kindergarten classes for children from the age of 4 is a non-compulsory service made available to families with the passage of Bill 5 in 2019. It is being phased in gradually in schools across Québec. The Preschool Education Program for 4-Year-Olds is intended to facilitate the global development of all children in that age bracket by offering them challenges adapted to their needs and interests in a context where the focus is on play."

Excerpt: "CREATING AFFORDABLE CHILD CARE: Two years ago, this government put B.C. on the path to universal child care. Tens of thousands of families are already feeling the benefits. Fee reductions and the affordable child care benefit have put more money back in families' pockets. And parents are bringing their skills back into the workforce, benefiting local business and the economy. There is more work to do to help British Columbians find quality child care they can afford. Government continues to train more Early Childhood Educators, to make sure B.C. has the professional, caring and skilled child care workers it needs. Those Early Childhood Educators are now earning higher wages, with an additional $1-per-hour increase coming April 1 for those working in licensed care. As work on universal child care continues, this government will work to increase the number of spaces for school-aged children, and partner with school districts to create more before- and after-school care."

Excerpt: "A strategy document outlines the transformation agenda that affects every area within the department, and which will continue to influence its work in the years to come. Some priority areas include: improving early learning and child-care options for Manitoba families, by supporting the creation of new child-care spaces and more child-care options for families, while also reviewing the current funding model to ensure sustainability."

Excerpt: "That starts with a commitment to govern in a positive, open and collaborative way. Our platform, Forward: A Real Plan for the Middle Class, is the starting point for our Government. I expect us to work with Parliament to deliver on our commitments. Other issues and ideas will arise or will come from Canadians, Parliament, stakeholders and the public service. It is my expectation that you will engage constructively and thoughtfully and add priorities to the Government’s agenda when appropriate. Where legislation is required, you will need to work with the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and the Cabinet Committee on Operations to prioritize within the minority Parliament."

Excerpt: "With an investment of over $2 billion in 2019-20 and a commitment to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools, we are building a stronger child care and early years system to provide more children and families with access to child care and give children the best possible start in life."