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Brahm Fleisch

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.

Excerpt: "In October 2021, the Atkinson Centre commissioned an evaluation to inform future editions of the ECER in the context of past experiences and in light of the intended development of a Canada -Wide Early Learning and Child Care system. This new policy direction and accompanying increase in public investment will require comprehensive data collection and monitoring to promote children’s equitable access to quality programming and provide accountability for public funding.

Dr. David Philpott, a recently retired professor from Memorial University with an extensive research and publication history, conducted the review. A total of 93 key informants representing four groups participated in the research: government officials in divisions of early learning and child care; academics and advocates; faculty in Early Childhood Education (ECE) training programs; and the ECER’s authors and funders, who provided background information, analytics and suggested key informants."

Ontario announced that it signed the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which promises to bring parent fees down to an average of $10 a day.

Excerpt: "On April 1, 2022, the eligibility for these wage enhancements expanded to ensure more ECEs will benefit. Previously, the $4-an-hour wage enhancement program was only available to front-line ECEs working directly with children. Budget 2022 is providing nearly $80 million over the next three years to expand this enhancement to all ECEs directly employed by licensed child care programs, including Supported Child Development and Aboriginal Supported Child Development professionals with ECE certification."

Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "The early learning and care workforce is female dominated and racialized. It’s among the lowest-paid sectors even compared to other female-dominated jobs requiring similar education and experience.

When compared to male professions with similar education and training requirements, the wage gap is even more staggering, and shows how our society’s devaluation of labour related to educating and caring for young children is deeply gendered."

MA in Child Study and Education (CSE) student, Carolyn White.
Expected year of graduation: 2023.

Dr. Kang Lee has been named one of this year’s laureates of the President’s Impact Award.

Excerpt: "To improve assistance and services for families and youth, the government is announcing funding totalling $256 million in this budget to: improve the quality of the educational childcare services network; rovide support to families with special needs and improve targeted services for them; support young people. The financial impact of these measures is $109 million, in light of amounts announced elsewhere in this budget, such as the implementation of the 2022‑2027 government action plan in the community action field."

Excerpt: "Families will see their fees for accessing licensed, funded child care reduced by 25 per cent, on average, starting Friday, April 1. Through the Nova Scotia Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, parents will save anywhere between $3 and $10.50 per day, per child, based on the child’s age."

Excerpt: "Early Learning and Child Care preschool spaces coverage in New Brunswick is currently 47%. The largest gaps are spaces in rural communities and infant spaces. 16% of New Brunswick communities have less than 25% coverage for children ages five (5) years and under, prior to school entry. The majority of these low coverage areas are rural communities. Many rural communities in New Brunswick have a higher level of seasonal employment which can have an impact on the demand for services. New Brunswick is committed to creating new spaces in rural communities and will consult on ways to best serve these communities’ unique needs."

Excerpt: "Mr. Speaker, over the course of the pandemic we have seen the importance of keeping our childcare facilities open as parents continued to work throughout the various stages of the pandemic. Families are also seeing rising costs and household budgets are being squeezed. One way our government can help families deal with the current high inflation environment is to make childcare more affordable. Through our bilateral agreements with the Government of Canada, we will be investing $110 million in our early learning and childcare sector in 2022–2023, and over the next five years, we will invest a total of approximately $500 million. These agreements will help lower the cost of childcare for New Brunswick families, while also respecting the investments we have already made in building a world-class early learning education system."