Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Families in Winnipeg, St. Andrews and Oak Lake will have greater access to some of the best, most affordable licensed child care in Canada with the creation of more than 250 new child-care spaces at four new centres and one existing site, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today."

In Budget 2010 the Government committed to work with First Nations to develop options, including new legislation, to improve the governance framework and clarify accountability for First Nations elementary and secondary education. In 2011, the Government and the Assembly of First Nations launched a National Panel, which made a number of recommendations for reforming First Nations education in its February 2012 report. In response to the Panel’s report, the Government is working with partners to introduce a First Nation Education Act and have it in place for September 2014. The purpose of this legislation is to establish the structures and standards to support strong and accountable education systems on reserve. This will set the stage for more positive education outcomes for First Nations children and youth. The Government will also work to explore mechanisms to ensure stable, predictable and sustainable funding for First Nations elementary and secondary education.

An action plan outlining the Government’s future priorities for programs and funding.

Excerpt: "The new Provincial Office for the Early Years will focus on the needs of families with children up to age six and help ensure they have easy access to a range of early-years services no matter where they live in B.C., announced Minister of Children and Family Development Stephanie Cadieux at the UBC Early Years Conference in Vancouver."

The Government of Manitoba acknowledges the failure of the child welfare system to protect Phoenix Sinclair and will immediately act on the recommendations of the Hughes inquiry and continue strengthening protections for children in Manitoba, Family Services Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross said today.

The Early Literacy Foundations program, designed to give parents and caregivers the tools to promote and enhance early literacy development in children, was launched today (Monday, January 27) at the Michael Donovan Library in St. John’s.

The Child Care Amendment Regulations.

Ontario is taking steps to strengthen oversight of the province's unlicensed child care sector while increasing access to licensed child care options for families. The Child Care Modernization Act, to be introduced December 3, would allow the province to immediately shut down a child care provider when a child's safety is at risk.

Excerpt: "The Government of Manitoba and the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation are working together to establish a million-dollar Early Childhood Development Innovation Fund, the first of its kind in Canada, Premier Greg Selinger announced today. In a partnership with United Way of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Poverty Reduction Council and the business community, the fund is being seeded by a $500,000 investment from the Montreal-based McConnell Foundation, with matching funds from the Government of Manitoba."

Excerpt: "This focus on disciplinary thinking means that students will take part in actively building their own understanding of important concepts and topics. Social Studies covers many interesting topics with no agreed-upon answer, such as questions about the causes of major historical events or debates about which policy decisions government should make to address a societal problem. Using disciplinary thinking tools, students will learn to develop and support their own answers to these questions, as well as challenge the answers and information obtained through various sources."

This report is the results of the first year’s evaluation of Prince Edward Island’s Preschool Excellence Initiative -- a comprehensive 5-year plan to build a provincial early childhood system for children from infancy to kindergarten. The system’s emphasis is on building a community based, publicly managed early childhood system supporting the early development of children while at the same time supporting parents in balancing their work and family responsibilities.

Education Minister Liz Sandals visited full-day kindergarten students, teachers and staff at Ogden Junior Public School for the first day of school where she provided details on a study conducted in partnership with Queen's and McMaster universities on FDK. The study measured the progress and development of students who were enrolled in FDK compared to those who participated in half-day programs.