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Policy Monitor

The Policy Monitor tracks Federal, Provincial and Territorial early childhood policy initiatives, developments and announcements.

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Quebec
Excerpt: "The governments of Quebec and Canada recognize Quebec’s leadership in early learning and child care and together, they have announced an asymmetric agreement for the federal transfer of nearly $6 billion over five years. This includes a significant portion that will go toward strengthening the early learning and child care system in Quebec and improving working conditions for educators."

Nova Scotia
Auditor General Kim Adair-MacPherson released her July 2021 Report to the House of Assembly. The report examined the planning and implementation of the Pre-Primary Program introduced by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in 2017.

Canada
Excerpt: "The Canada Country Background Report provides descriptions of Canadian policies in place at all levels of government that support process quality in ECEC. Information presented in the report is representative of policy contexts and efforts as of early 2021. Initial data collection occurred through the 2019 OECD policy review questionnaire, with updates and content development occurring throughout 2020 and early 2021. Specific attention is given to the policy context for ECEC, along with descriptions of early learning curriculum frameworks, pedagogical practices, and policies, programs, and initiatives to support workforce development."

Manitoba
Excerpt: "The Manitoba Child Care Search (MCCS) is a user-friendly online tool that connects families with licensed child-care facilities to meet their immediate or future needs. The MCCS lists up-to-date information on licensed child-care centre vacancies, hours of operation and locations."

Newfoundland & Labrador
Excerpt: "The plan features targets to achieve several shared priorities between the Federal and Provincial Governments."

Prince Edward Island
Excerpt: "The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Premier of Prince Edward Island, Dennis King, today announced an agreement that will support an average of $10 a day early learning and child care in the province in three years. PEI is on track to meet this target by the end of 2024, significantly reducing the price of child care for families. Through the agreement, the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island will work together to improve access to quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services. This includes creating 452 new regulated early learning and child care spaces within two years to ensure all families of children under age six can access child care. The federal funding of nearly $121.3 million over the next five years also includes a one time investment of about $3.6 million in 2021-2022 to support the early childhood workforce."

Yukon
Excerpt: "Today’s announcement includes the creation of 110 new regulated early learning and child care spaces within five years to help ensure families of children under six years old can access child care spaces that meet their needs. The Government of Canada’s investment builds on Yukon’s efforts to date to ensure that all families have access to an average of $10 a day out-of-pocket parent fees for full-time regulated child care spaces for children under age six. This agreement will fund critical services, and attract, retain and grow a strong and skilled workforce of early childhood educators, including through greater opportunities for professional development. This agreement also supports the ongoing implementation of Yukon’s wage grid, which provides a minimum wage of nearly $30 an hour to fully qualified early childhood educators— the highest minimum wage for early childhood educators in the country."

Alberta
Excerpt: "Through the agreement, the Government of Canada is providing over $290 million in funding over 4 years to Alberta to improve access to high quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services."

Nova Scotia
Excerpt: "Nova Scotia’s Early Learning and Child Care System will focus on affordability, accessibility, inclusion and quality. The plan will: reduce child care fees by an average of 50 per cent by Dec. 31, 2022; ensure child care fees are, on average, $10 per day by 2026; create at least 9,500 new early learning and child care spaces by March 31, 2025, including new spaces for infants and toddlers, and a new three-year-old early learning program with priority access given to vulnerable and equity-seeking families; enhance before and after care options at schools."

British Columbia
Excerpt: "Under this agreement, the governments of Canada and British Columbia will work together to improve access to quality, affordable, flexible, and inclusive early learning and child care programs and services. British Columbia and Canada agree on the goal of $10 a day child care, and will work together towards achieving an average parent fee of $10 per day for all regulated child care spaces for children under 6 by the end of the five-year agreement. By the end of 2022, British Columbians will see a 50 per cent reduction in average parent fees for children under the age of 6 in regulated child care.

This agreement will lead to the creation of 30,000 new regulated early learning and child care spaces for children under the age of 6 within five years, and 40,000 spaces within seven years. These spaces will be focused on community investments that are long-term and run by public and non-profit institutions.

The agreement will fund critical services and support early childhood educators, including through the development of a wage grid."

British Columbia
Excerpt: "The proposed ELCC act will increase transparency and accountability by requiring the Province to produce annual reports on its progress towards building an inclusive, universal child care system. The report will also include how the Province is collaborating with Indigenous peoples to support Indigenous-led child care. The ELCC act will also give the minister responsible the authority to create new regulations, including the ability to set limits on child care fees for parents. This will help ensure child care is more affordable for families."

British Columbia
Excerpt: "More families than ever are benefiting from better access to quality, affordable child care, thanks to the fastest creation of child care spaces in B.C.’s history. The Province has exceeded its original three-year goal and has funded nearly 26,000 new licensed child care spaces since the 10-year Childcare BC plan was launched in 2018. Nearly 70% of these spaces are expected to be open for families within the next year."