News & Stories: Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "The action plan is focused on ensuring access to high-quality, equitable education, preparing students for their future, supporting excellence in teaching and leadership, and strengthening the public education system in Manitoba, noted the minister. The action plan has four pillars for student success: High-Quality Learning: to improve learning and outcomes for students through responsive and relevant curriculum and learning experiences in safe and inclusive learning environments; Student Engagement and Well-Being: to respond to diverse life experiences, engage students, promote well-being, support successful transitions and leverage inter-sectoral partnerships; Excellence in Teaching and Leadership: to ensure teachers, school staff and leaders have the knowledge, skills and tools to support student achievement and well-being; Responsive Systems: to ensure an equitable, aligned and effective public education system that focuses on engagement, inclusion and planning for provincial and local needs."

Excerpt: "Today, the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, Karina Gould, announced funding to the University of Winnipeg Foundation for their project with the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association Day Care. The funding is being provided through the Early Learning and Child Care Innovation Program. The project is receiving a total of $331,287 in federal funding over 24 months, starting in April 2022. The project will focus on exploring, testing and developing a safe outdoor play area for optimal Indigenous culturally appropriate learning and programming for children and their families, while delivering Indigenous professional development training for staff."

Excerpt: "As part of this commitment, the province is investing $4.8 million in new, ongoing operating grants that will fund 2,294 school-age child-care spaces for children aged seven to 12. This funding will increase financial stability for facilities that offer school-age programming and ensure low- and middle-income parents can access affordable, regulated care for their school-age children."

Excerpt: "Under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, $34.7 million will be allocated to the existing operating grants through an additional Wage Grid Supplement to support wage equity for early learning and child-care sector staff who care for children under the age of seven. The funding will allow non-profit child-care boards to develop fair, consistent and competitive wage scales for early childhood educators and child-care assistants across the province. The wage grid in the Canada-wide agreement sets out equitable wage targets to provide funded facilities with guidance on wages for child-care assistants and early childhood educators."

Excerpt: "To support early childhood educators, Manitoba implemented a new wage grid to support wage equity for early childhood educators in funded child care facilities. The new wage grid will allow non-profit child care boards to develop fair, consistent and competitive wage scales across the province and will help the early learning and child care sector retain qualified, experienced staff and boost recruitment efforts."

Excerpt: "As part of the new Family Affordability Package, Manitoba families with children and a household income of less than $175,000 in 2021 will receive a Family Affordability benefit cheque of $250 for the first child and $200 for each additional child. An estimated 145,000 families with approximately 282,000 children will benefit with an average cheque of approximately $440 per family, totalling $63 million in benefits."

Excerpt: "The 24 child-care facilities will each receive grants between $5,000 and $25,000, depending on the number of infant and preschool spaces offered. These facilities applied for grants during the 2020-21 Indigenous Programming Grant intake. “This grant will be used to enhance Indigenous-focused curriculum and programming in our centres,” said Fernanda Hodgsons, executive director, Day Nursery Centre. “It provides us with a step in the right direction toward reconciliation and a greater understanding of our Indigenous families and community.”"

Excerpt: "The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing more than $1 million to support a community-based capital project to create 40 new child-care spaces at a new centre in Oakville, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced here today. “Our government is committed to creating high-quality child-care spaces for Manitobans that have limited access to child care, such as Indigenous communities, newcomers and low-income families,” said Ewasko. “I am pleased that our government’s investment will help to develop the first child-care centre in the town of Oakville, a rural community in central Manitoba that currently has the lowest number of licensed child-care spaces in the province.” The new spaces are made possible through funding under the Canada-Manitoba Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, which provides the province with approximately $1.2 billion million over five years to improve access to affordable, high-quality, flexible and inclusive early learning and child-care programs for all children, regardless of where they live."

Excerpt: "The governments of Canada and Manitoba are investing more than $4 million to reimburse the tuition of early childhood educator students by up to $5,000 per school year to help cover tuition-related costs of recognized programs Terry Duguid, member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, on behalf of federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould, Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko and Manitoba Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes announced today."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is establishing the Manitoba Education Council to take a provincewide approach to planning, implementing and monitoring Manitoba’s K to 12 Education Action Plan and is issuing a call for applications from members of the public wishing to join in this work, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced today."

Excerpt: "The governments of Canada and Manitoba are allocating up to $70 million in capital funding for new child-care facilities, creating more than 1,200 new, regulated non-profit child-care spaces across the province with a focus on rural and First Nations communities, Premier Heather Stefanson, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko and federal parliamentary secretary Ya’ara Saks, on behalf of federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould, announced today."

Excerpt: "Transformational investments in child care, education and advanced education are critical to preparing young Manitobans for their future. To address the need for affordable and accessible high-quality early childhood education, especially in rural communities, we are investing up to $70 million to fund up to 17 new facilities to create more than 1,200 new spaces. To strengthen the sector and encourage more individuals to pursue a career in early childhood education, an increase to operating grants is planned for early in the new year to support increased wages. As the workforce grows, more investments will be made to add more spaces."