Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing more than $24 million to develop and expand early childhood educator (ECE) and child-care assistant (CCA) training programs at Manitoba’s post-secondary institutions over the next three years. “Earlier this year, our government invited Manitoba’s publicly-funded post-secondary institutions to submit proposals to develop or expand education and training programs for the early learning and child-care sector,” said Guillemard. “I’m pleased that five post-secondary institutions have been approved to receive funding, with a number of them updating their program delivery to provide more flexible, accelerated training options that meet the standards for certification.” Five public post-secondary institutions will receive funding to expand training for child-care professionals following an invitation from the province to submit expressions of interest in March 2023. This funding will add an estimated 998 seats in the province over a three-year period and will support approximately 2,000 total new student admissions."

Excerpt: "The Provincial Government is issuing a call for members to expand the Minister of Education’s Early Learning and Child Care Advisory Committee. Members of the advisory committee will contribute to the development and implementation of the provincial Early Learning Action Plan 2023-2026. The committee will provide advice to the Minister of Education respecting early learning and child care, programs and services, and funding and activities that support early learning and child care and ensure a high quality and inclusive system."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is investing more than $1.6 million to expand access to early years evaluations and digital assessment tools in English and French for educators and clinicians across the province, to support early identification of learning needs, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced today. “Our government knows how important it is for educators and clinicians to be able to identify learning needs early on, especially to support literacy instruction and intervention,” said Ewasko. “These new resources will provide teachers and clinicians with equitable access to early identification tools, specialized assessments and interventions to identify student learning needs, and develop supports and programming to improve outcomes.”"

Excerpt: "The Department of Education is holding public consultation sessions throughout the province to seek input and recommendations on the development of an Early Learning Action Plan, including a legislative review of the Child Care Act and regulations. The province has been strengthening its efforts to create an affordable, accessible, and quality early learning system in Newfoundland and Labrador. Additional information can be found in backgrounder below. Public consultations on the Early Learning Action Plan offers an opportunity for those in the early learning and child care sector, stakeholders and the public, to provide input and feedback on programs and legislation, and how they can be improved to meet the needs of children and families in Newfoundland and Labrador."

Excerpt: "The Government of Saskatchewan has partnered with 10 post-secondary institutions across the province to increase access to training and professional development opportunities for early childhood educators. Through the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement 2021-2026, Saskatchewan is committing over $12 million for the 2023-24 academic year to support existing and prospective early childhood educators to achieve higher levels of training and access to professional development opportunities. Attracting, retaining and growing a strong workforce of early childhood educators is just one of the initiatives by the Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan through the Canada-Saskatchewan Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. Other initiatives that have been implemented include $10 a day child care and wage enhancements of up to $5 an hour for early childhood educator wages."

Excerpt: "The Government of Yukon is committed to making life more affordable for parents and families, now and in the long term. To help address inflation and the costs associated with raising children, the rate of the Yukon Child Benefit will increase by 6.8 per cent on July 1, 2023. Future annual increases will match the Whitehorse Consumer Price Index to ensure that the benefit keeps pace with the rising cost of living. In 2023–24, the maximum amount will increase to $876 per child for the year, with most benefit recipients receiving $56 more than last year. Approximately 1,200 Yukon families receive the Yukon Child Benefit."

Excerpt: "The aim of the Nunavut Early Learning and Child Care Quality Framework is to present a clear and accessible vision for ELCC in Nunavut that supports the development and delivery of ELCC programs and services across the territory. Whether this takes place in the home, child care settings, community-based programs, or parenting centres in remote or urban communities, all ELCC programs developed and delivered in Nunavut should align with the vision and guiding principles presented in this framework."

Excerpt: "There continues to be many systemic issues within the Child and Family Services system that contribute to the inequities of services delivered to families and the overrepresentation of Indigenous children and youth in care. The larger goal of system reform has been long identified, and amendments to the Child and Family Services Act are part of this work. In April 2022, Northwest Territories (NWT) residents were invited to provide comments on the “Child and Family Services Act: Proposed Amendments Discussion Paper”. The Discussion Paper sets out amendments under consideration by the Department of Health and Social Services (Department). The Department identified eight key elements to serve as an outline for the proposed changes and help respondents navigate the proposed amendments."

Excerpt: "“Understanding the Early Years” is a Yukon First Nations designed and developed course that will be offered in Whitehorse and in rural communities, with special focus on communities that have limited access to professional development. The course provides opportunities for both employees of licensed programs currently working without a certificate level and Yukoners wanting to enter the early childhood education field. Yukoners who successfully complete the course will receive a Level 1 certificate to practice as an early childhood educator from the Yukon Department of Education’s Early Learning and Child Care Unit."

Excerpt: "The provincial government will partner with operators in 24 communities to create 603 designated early learning and child-care spaces. “We know there is a need for more high-quality, inclusive and affordable early learning and child-care spaces,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Bill Hogan. “Creating new designated spaces will make a difference for New Brunswick families. We look forward to continuing to work with our early learning and child-care sector on efforts to increase access to these critical services.” The new spaces include 231 for infants (birth to 24 months) and 372 for preschool children (ages 2-5). The breakdown is as follows: francophone spaces for infants: 66; francophone spaces for preschool children: 61; anglophone spaces for infants: 165; anglophone spaces for preschool children: 311."

Excerpt: "This year, the PEP will provide $5 million toward 25 new school playgrounds across 25 school districts. The Province has increased the amount of funding that school districts will receive per playground to $195,000. Playgrounds are expected to be designed, built and installed over the next year. The program significantly reduces parent-led fundraising that was previously needed to help build playgrounds. Playgrounds promote physical activity, while encouraging students to share and develop conflict-resolution skills. They also provide students with opportunities to learn new things, reduce anxiety, improve focus, increase attention span, and enhance gross-motor, social, emotional and sensory development."

Excerpt: "While it is less clear if subsidized child care will improve the short-term earnings profile of mothers following childbirth, it is likely to improve female labour participation based on experiences observed elsewhere. Assuming the objectives set out in this bilateral agreement between Ontario and the federal government are met, the FAO estimates that subsidized child care fees in Ontario could increase the core-age female labour force participation rate from 84 per cent in 2022 to between 85.6 and 87.1 per cent by 2027. This would add 50,900 to 98,600 more women to Ontario’s labour force. However, several key challenges to the $10 a day child care program in Ontario could limit the positive potential impacts on women’s labour market participation, including inadequate funding, a lack of child care spaces, a shortage of qualified early childhood educators and any future changes to parental leave benefits."