Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Research shows a clear link between a solid foundation in children's early years and their long-term development and success. That is why Ontario is committed to improving access to child care, giving parents more choice and making high quality programs affordable."

Excerpt: "Municipalities and regional districts can now apply for up to $4 million to buy land for child care centres and create new licensed child care spaces in their communities."

Excerpt: "Starting in the 2021 tax-year, the credit would also be available for eligible families through regular advance payments during the year, helping parents better manage child care expenses as they are incurred.

The CARE tax credit will be on top of the existing Child Care Expense Deduction (CCED) and focus support to low- and moderate-income families. The CARE tax credit will provide about $1,250 per family, on average, in new child care support to about 300,000 families. The maximum amount available will be higher for families with a child dealing with a severe disability, with no age restrictions."

Excerpt: "Ontario is committed to providing families with more choice and convenience when it comes to accessing child care that works for them. That's why over the over the next five years the government is pledging up to $1 billion to create up to 30,000 new child care spaces in schools across the province to provide young children with a safe environment to learn and grow. Included in this commitment is nearly 10,000 child care spaces that will be built in new schools."

Excerpt: "The province will expand the on-site, Nova Scotia Before and After Program to 40 sites this fall, with continued expansion in 2020, where needed."

Excerpt: "Accessible early learning and child care means that opportunities are available to residents, regardless of income or geographic location. It also means that care is non-compulsory and offered through a range of services that are based on the needs identified by the community and parents. The territorial implementation of JK provided free, play-based learning opportunities for all children in the NWT. This was a fiscally responsible and feasible option as all communities had the required infrastructure available in schools with utilization rates that provided enough space for JK students."

Excerpt: "Today, Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that seven early learning and child care innovation projects in the Greater Toronto Area are receiving nearly $1.8 million in funding."

Excerpt: "Indigenous families in over 30 communities throughout the province will benefit from more than 600 new, free licensed child care spaces and expanded Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) programs."

Excerpt: "Children and families across the province will have more options and improved access to child care with a $4.4 million investment. The money will help create 403 new spaces across the province and provide 108 non-profit child care centres with opportunities to expand or improve their programs."

Excerpt: "Ontario will commit up to $1.0 billion over the next five years to create up to 30,000 childcare spaces in schools, including approximately 10,000 spaces in new schools. These school‐based childcare settings will provide safe learning environments for children and offer them the opportunity to grow in a familiar environment."

Excerpt: "Eligible staff working in a licensed child care program or agency will continue to see increased wages of up to $2 an hour, while home child care providers working with a licensed child care agency will be eligible for a grant of up to $20 a day. This investment will help strengthen Ontario's child care system by retaining more registered early childhood educators and other qualified professionals."

Excerpt: "The extra bursaries build on the success of the ECE bursary program that approved approximately 1,100 applications for just over $2 million in the fall of 2018. A new $1.9-million investment through the Province’s Early Learning and Child Care Agreement with the Government of Canada means more potential and current ECEs will benefit. This is in addition to the $10 million that was previously announced in September 2018 to expand the ECE Education Support Fund, which is administered by the Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC)."