News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Students and families will have more access to affordable child care spaces and a new centre to train early childhood educators (ECE) at Capilano University (CapU) in North Vancouver. “Access to high-quality, affordable child care is essential, not only for advancing equality but also for strengthening our economy by helping more people pursue an education or find a job,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure. “The new Fulmer Family Centre for Childhood Studies doubles the number of child care spaces on campus, supporting families in the community, while also providing more opportunities for early childhood education students to get the education they need to join the workforce in their chosen field.” The centre adds 74 child care spaces for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, for a total of 143 on-campus spaces. A purpose-built learning space with labs and classrooms is also opening to provide education for 20 additional early childhood educators, bringing the practicum placements for students on campus to 48."

Excerpt: "In response to a number of cases of financial mismanagement by school boards, the Ontario government is taking action to increase accountability and ensure boards are focused on improving student outcomes, so students are able to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. This includes immediate measures to increase oversight at several school boards of particular concern. The province will closely monitor the results of these measures and is prepared to take additional action to ensure all school boards are focused on delivering high-quality education as part of its plan to protect Ontario with a back-to-basics approach that prepares students and our workforce for whatever comes our way."

Excerpt: "Twenty-five school districts will each receive $200,000 to fund the construction of new accessible school playgrounds. “Playgrounds are more than just places to play, they are spaces where children make friends, build confidence and create memories,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Education and Child Care. “The new playgrounds we are announcing today will provide communities throughout B.C. with safe, accessible and inclusive spaces for kids and families to enjoy for years to come.”"

Excerpt: "Further to the memo communication of November 26, 2024, regarding the Ontario Child Care and Early Years Funding Guidelines (“the Guidelines”), I am writing with additional updates to support municipal planning for 2025 and beyond, including: Results of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) space target
recalibration exercise; Information on the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund; Updated 2025 Allocations; Updates to the Guidelines."

Excerpt: "Beginning in the fall of 2025, a significant number of school divisions will begin a pilot, noted the minister, with full implementation in all school divisions in fall 2026. All students will be screened in early fall for at least three consecutive years between kindergarten to Grade 4. A second screening will take place in the spring, which will be optional for students that meet benchmarks in the fall. School divisions will select from standardized evidence-based screening tools to ensure the program is reliable and can predict students who may be at risk of future reading difficulties including dyslexia."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is investing $6 million to support a revitalized Park Community Centre and non-profit child-care facility in downtown Brandon, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard announced here today. “This investment in the Park Community Centre creates a new option for working families looking for affordable daycare services in downtown Brandon,” said Simard. “Once completed, the Park Community Centre will offer a safe and inclusive place to enjoy rec services, cultural and social events and a brand-new licensed daycare centre.” A key component of the redevelopment of the Park Community Centre will be a licensed, non-profit child-care facility, ensuring more families in Brandon have access to affordable, high-quality care close to home, noted the minister."

Excerpt: "Child-care operators in Cumberland County are adding more spaces with funding from the Province, giving families more options and improved access. The Province is providing about $4.5 million in funding to two child-care operators, resulting in 77 new spaces. “By investing in child care, we invest in our future, helping families participate in the workforce and grow Nova Scotia's economy,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and MLA for Cumberland South, on behalf of Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “We will continue to work with all of our partners to add more spaces for Cumberland County.”"

Excerpt: "The YMCA of Pictou County and Citizens for a Health Pictou County are partnering with the Province to provide 70 more child-care spaces. The $2.7 million investment in infrastructure work gives families in the area more options and improved access to child care. “We know families are eager for child care that is close to home,” said Marco MacLeod, MLA for Pictou West, on behalf of Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “These new spaces in Pictou County create more options for Nova Scotians in these communities as we work toward our goal of creating 9,500 new child-care spaces by March 31, 2026.”"

Excerpt: "The ministry will be extending funding for the school districts included in the child care on school grounds pilots (Seamless Day Kindergarten, School Age Child Care, Just B4 licensed preschool, and the Integration Inquiry Project) to ensure the existing child care spaces families depend on are operational next school year."

Excerpt: " The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) implemented today an increase of $3.5 million in Dedicated Wage Funding and a permanent increase of $664,000 in Flexible Funding to support the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Sector. The Dedicated Wage Funding is intended to increase wages to early childhood educators working in licensed centre-based early learning and child care facilities. This funding represents a significant increase to the wage grid and increases the minimum that all early childhood educators in centre-based facilities must be paid by approximately $9/hour."

Excerpt: "In response to the devastating outbreak, Alberta’s government established an external review panel to identify ways to strengthen food safety legislation and inspection processes in kitchens servicing licensed child-care facilities. The review panel submitted its final report in the summer of 2024, outlining 12 main recommendations and 27 sub-recommendations. Immediate action was taken to begin to address key recommendations, including establishing clear expectations and a framework for public health inspections. Now, Alberta’s government is taking further steps to strengthen food safety in licensed child-care facilities. Starting March 26, Albertans are invited to participate in an online survey to help inform the implementation of the review panel’s recommendations and Alberta’s public health legislation, regulations, and policies related to food safety."

Excerpt: "High-quality early learning and child care is foundational to supporting early childhood development and student success. It is also a key enabler of workforce participation, particularly for women, both as parents and providers. Over the years, Ontario has advanced many initiatives to strengthen its early years and child care system. This includes: Providing child care fee subsidies to support lower-income families to access child care; Investing in operator subsidies to help offset costs that would otherwise result in higher child care fees. Support is provided for general operating costs, as well as wage enhancements for qualified staff; Establishing the College of Early Childhood Educators in 2008 as the self-regulatory body for the early childhood education profession in the province and the only regulatory college for early childhood educators in Canada; Rolling out universal full-day kindergarten starting in 2010 to provide a full day of free high-quality programming for all children aged 4 to 5 years in the publicly funded school system across the province; Conducting an annual data collection of child care program operations from licensed child care centres and home child care agencies since 2012 and reporting on the Early Development Instrument (EDI) indicators since 2003; Establishing a modern legislative framework and quality standards, the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA), that governs child care in Ontario. The legislation requires that programming in licensed spaces is aligned with the provincial pedagogy, How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years, 2014, which sets out a vision, values, foundations and approaches to guide practice for high-quality experiences in licensed child care and early years settings; Supporting the recruitment and retention of early childhood educators in child care since 2015 through the Ontario Wage Enhancement Grants; Introducing the Ontario Childcare Access and Relief from Expenses (CARE) tax credit in 2019. The tax credit helps an estimated 300,000 families each year with up to 75% of their eligible child care expenses; Funding EarlyON Child and Family Centres to provide a variety of supports to caregivers and children up to six years old across Ontario. Implementing the CWELCC system in the province to reduce the average parent fees for children under six in participating child care programs to $10 per by the end of fiscal year 2025-26. This includes: a Start-up Grant program to support the creation of new child care spaces in targeted regions and for underserviced communities and populations; an Access and Inclusion Framework to support local service plans as related to inclusion; a workforce strategy to support the recruitment and retention of qualified professionals working in licensed child care; a cost-based funding approach providing support for operating costs for licensees participating in CWELCC for the delivery of child care to children aged 0-5 years; These initiatives continue to shape Ontario’s early years and child care system and benefit children and families in the province. A stable and accessible child care system is crucial in supporting the province moving forward with the implementation of the CWELCC system."