Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Budget 2024 supports working families by recognizing affordable and accessible child care as the backbone of a strong economy where everyone can participate. That’s why we are investing $15.9-million in new child-care spaces, as well increasing access to $10/day child care, and increasing funding support for child-care centres to increase salaries for early childhood educators."

Excerpt: "The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced a new National School Food Program. With an investment of $1 billion over five years, the Program, included in Budget 2024, will launch with a target of providing meals to 400,000 more kids every year, beyond those served by existing school food programs. For moms and dads, it will mean the peace of mind that your kids are taken care of and do not go hungry. For kids, it will mean healthy meals – helping them learn, grow, and reach their full potential. This is a generational investment in the future of our kids, and we’re going to work with provinces and territories and Indigenous partners to ensure every child has the food they need. The Program will be a safety net for the kids who need this support the most. The lack of access to food disproportionately impacts children from lower-income families and from racialized and Indigenous communities. With this program, we’re getting healthy food on the plates of growing kids."

Excerpt: "More families in British Columbia will save thousands of dollars every year as more than 930 child care spaces move into the $10 a Day ChildCareBC program in March and April. This brings the total number of $10-a-day spaces in B.C. to more than 15,000. “Affordable, $10-a-day child care that’ll help families save thousands of dollars, help parents balance work with family and help kids get the best start to life. That’s what today’s announcement with B.C. is all about,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Together, we’re making sure families across the province get the quality child care they need without worrying about the cost.”"

Excerpt: "The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced measures from the upcoming Budget 2024 to build more affordable child care spaces – saving more families thousands of dollars and helping more parents return to their careers. These measures include: Launching a new Child Care Expansion Loan Program. With $1 billion in low-cost loans and $60 million in non-repayable grants, public and not-for-profit child care providers will be able to build new spaces and renovate their existing child care centres. This means more resources for child care providers and more affordable child care options for families; Offering student loan forgiveness for rural and remote early childhood educators. This will encourage educators to work in smaller communities and help families get the child care they need. With a $48 million investment over four years, student loan forgiveness will increase the longer an educator works in a rural or remote area, attracting and retaining the talent, similar to the programs we’re offering rural doctors and nurses; Increasing training for early childhood educators. We’re investing $10 million over two years to train more early childhood educators, building up the talent needed for the expansion of affordable, high-quality child care."

Excerpt: "The government is committed to building modern schools by investing $23 billion, including approximately $16 billion in capital grants over 10 years, to build, expand and renew schools and child care spaces across Ontario. Since 2018, the government has supported nearly 300 school or child care-related projects, of which more than 100 are actively under construction. This includes $1.4 billion for the current school year to support the repair and renewal needs of schools."

Excerpt: " Today, the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced $9,450,000 over five years, for two organizations through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s (PHAC) Healthy Early Years program. This investment will help improve access to community-based early childhood health promotion programming in OLMCs, including assisting families facing health equity barriers. It will also expand knowledge and resources as well as strengthen capacity to help improve the health and development of children (birth to 6 years of age). The Société Santé en français (SSF) will receive $7,560,000 to support francophones living in OLMCs outside of the province of Quebec. The Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) will receive $1,890,000 to support anglophones living in OLMCs in the province of Quebec."

Excerpt: "Every family in Canada deserves access to high-quality child care when they need it and at a price that won’t break the bank. That’s why the Government of Canada is working closely with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to make this a reality. To date, over half of all provinces and territories are delivering regulated early learning and child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, and every other jurisdiction has reduced fees by at least 50%. For families across Canada, this means significant annual savings for regulated child care. On average, families could save up to $14,300 per child depending on where they live. With Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, receiving Royal Assent on March 19, 2024, the federal vision is now established into law. The legislation enshrines the guiding principles for federal investments in a Canada-wide early learning and child care system where families have access to affordable, high-quality, flexible, and inclusive programs and services no matter where they live. This also includes this Government’s commitment to maintaining long-term federal funding to our funding partners."

Excerpt: "Bill C-35, An Act respecting early learning and child care in Canada, was introduced in the House of Commons on December 8, 2022. The Act: reinforces the Government’s long-term commitment to early learning and child care by articulating the federal goal, vision, and principles for a Canada-wide system; enshrines the Government of Canada’s commitment to sustained and ongoing funding for partners; enhances accountability through reporting to Parliament on progress towards an early learning and child care system; and establishes in law the National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care, which provides advice to the Government of Canada and serves as a forum for engagement on issues and challenges facing the early learning and child care sector."

Excerpt: "The 2024-25 Budget provides $408.7 million for early learning and child care, which will support Saskatchewan families. This includes an increase of $21.1 million for the Federal-Provincial Child Care Agreements. This funding continues to support child care at $10 a day for children under six, making Saskatchewan one of the most affordable places in Canada to live and raise a family. The Government of Saskatchewan is also committed to adding more regulated home-based and centre-based child care spaces in the province, creating more jobs for our growing province."

Excerpt: "The government will increase funding through the Canada-New Brunswick Canada-Wide Child Care Agreement by $7.4 million, bringing the total investment to $150.7 million in 2024-25. This investment aims to improve access to affordable, high-quality designated child-care spaces. Other investments include: $4.4 million to support children with autism spectrum disorder, providing the right supports at the right time and setting up children for success; $18.6 million to address challenges resulting from enrolment growth, as well as an additional $24.3 million to address rising operating costs such as energy, transportation and other services; $1.1 million to address costs associated with opening new schools in Fredericton and Moncton this September; $2.5 million to support language learning and ease the transition for immigrant students entering the New Brunswick education system; $7.4 million to provide services to help students attend school and address their diverse needs; $7.8 million to provide support to reverse the effects of instruction time lost during the pandemic; $4.1 million to begin implementing longer-term measures, such as teacher recruitment and retention, enhanced virtual learning and leadership development among school leaders."

Excerpt: "Joint federal and provincial funding of $1.2 million supported the projects, which include: an outdoor nature trail at Gaspereau Valley Elementary School, Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education; an outdoor classroom constructed of natural material at Oceanview Education Centre, Cape Breton Regional Centre for Education; a ball play area and outdoor amphitheatre upgrades at Petite Riviere Elementary School, South Shore Regional Centre for Education; a covered outdoor classroom with accessible walkway at Maple Grove Education Centre, Tri-County Regional Centre for Education; accessible picnic tables for more than 40 schools across the Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government has introduced legislation that would lower the age a child is required to attend school and remove barriers to students enrolling in schools in the area where they live, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Nello Altomare announced today. “We want to make sure every kid is set up for success and that means making sure they have access to education, particularly in the critical early years,” said Altomare. “We know when kids attend school regularly, they are more likely to succeed, go to college or university, and get a good job that will help them build a good life. That is why we want to make sure they are able to go to school wherever they are living.”"