Excerpt: "The provincial government has announced a 75 cent per hour wage increase for early childhood educators who have completed a two-year college diploma or a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field."
Excerpt: "The expansion of pre-primary will save families thousands of dollars in child care costs and create more opportunities for early childhood educators in Nova Scotia. About 224 more early childhood educators will be needed to support the new classrooms. More than 400 early childhood educators will be employed by the program next year."
Excerpt: "The Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, announced today that $6.5 million in Capital Renovation Grants has been allocated to 59 child care service providers. The grants are being provided through the $22 million three-year bi-lateral agreement with the Federal Government for early learning and child care investments."
Excerpt: "In September 2017, government launched the first pre-primary program for four-year-olds. This is a free, play-based program that provides all children an opportunity, regardless of their socio-economic situation. It provides parents with an option, and it has been well received across the province. Currently, more than 3,000 four-year-olds and their families are accessing the program in 185 pre-primary classes. With an additional $10.2 million this year, the rollout will continue, and by September 2020, we anticipate that every four-year-old in Nova Scotia will have access to a free, pre-primary, early learning opportunity. Early childhood educators are at the heart of quality child care. To expand services in both child care centres and in pre-primary classroom settings, we are dependent on a well-trained workforce."
Excerpt: "Universal kindergarten for 4 year- olds will be rolled out taking into account the school system's current resources. The teachers will be supported by an educator or special education technician and a team of professionals. The government plans to add 250 new classes starting in September 2019."
Excerpt: "Investing in the middle class means investing in people—with more help for those who need it, and less for those who don't. It means building a better Canada—a stronger, more connected country—and it means better opportunities for people today, and the promise of a better future, even in a world of constant change."
Excerpt: "That’s why we established a $25-a-day child care pilot program and expanded it to 7,300 spaces across 122 licensed child-care centres. But even still, child care is far too expensive for far too many women and families. That’s why, this year, your government will undertake a major new program to help young mothers and families save thousands of dollars and help make child care more affordable for everyone."
Excerpt: "The new measure will be available to parents, including adoptive or same-sex parents, for a child born or placed for the purpose of adoption on or after March 17, 2019—as long as they are eligible for and share their Employment Insurance parental benefits. When parents agree to do so, they will benefit from one of the following: five additional weeks of parental benefits when choosing the standard option; or eight additional weeks for those who choose the extended option."
Excerpt: "As of March 2018, the availability of ELCC Centres supported an estimated 328 Albertans to enter or re-enter the workforce. 92% of parents said their children’s enrolment at a child care centre enabled them to return to work or school."
Excerpt: "The report concluded that the recruitment and retention challenges faced by child care centresresult from a complex and dynamic interaction of several contributing factors. The authors note that “Solving recruitment and retention problems in child care requires a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach that must take into account and simultaneously address: (1) the need to moderate the stress in the job; (2) compensation (wages, benefits and working conditions); (3) the accessibility of ECCE training; and (4) the current low level of public respect for the job.”"
Excerpt: "For Métis Nation children and families, access to high-quality early learning and child care that is culturally appropriate is crucial. Today, Chandra Arya, Member of Parliament for Nepean, on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, along with the President of the Métis National Council (MNC), Clément Chartier, and Métis Nation Minister of Social Development, David Chartrand, announced the signing of the first ever Métis Nation Early Learning and Child Care Accord."
Excerpt: "The Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, released its 2017 Early Childhood Education Report. This report assesses early childhood education programming in Canada by province and territory. From 2014 to 2017, the Northwest Territories’ rating increased from 6.5 to 8.0 out of 15, which places the NWT exactly in the middle of all of the provinces and territories. This ranking shows that as a government we have made early childhood development a priority and are investing in our youngest residents; a commitment that must continue."