MONCTON,
NB, Aug. 7, 2024 /CNW/ -
Affordable child care is not a luxury—it is a necessity. That
is why the Government of Canada is
working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to
implement a Canada-wide early
learning and child care (ELCC) system that will bring fees for
regulated child care across the country down to $10-a-day on average by March 2026.
Today, the Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families,
Children and Social Development, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc,
Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and
Intergovernmental Affairs, and the Honourable Bill Hogan,
New Brunswick's Minister of
Education and Early Childhood Development, announced a three-year
action plan to improve and expand early learning and child care
services across the province. The Action Plan covers commitments
made under the Canada–New Brunswick Canada-wide Early Learning and
Child Care Agreement, the Canada-New Brunswick ELCC Agreement, and
the Canada-New Brunswick ELCC Infrastructure Fund Amendment. The
plan sets a road map for strengthening and expanding the child care
sector in the province and improving access to high-quality,
affordable, flexible, and inclusive child care for
families.
Over the course of the three-year plan, New Brunswick's Action Plan
2023–2024 to 2025–2026 outlines spending of more than
$426 million in five
areas:
Affordability
- More than $295 million
towards the goal of achieving regulated child care fees of
$10-a-day average by March 31, 2026. The Government of New Brunswick has already reduced child care
fees by an average of 50% as of December
2022 saving families an average of $3,600 per year, per child.
Access
- More than $20 million
towards the creation of 3,400 new regulated child care spots by
March 2026. In New Brunswick, measures to support the
creation of 3,400 new spots have been announced,
including in francophone and rural communities.
Quality
- More than $128.5 million
toward ongoing support for the early childhood educator
(ECE) wage grid introduced in November 2022, and offering training to support
educators obtaining their Level 1 – ECE Certificate.
Inclusion
- More than $30 million to
develop and implement a comprehensive inclusion framework for both
anglophone and francophone sectors; as well as
continuing to support inclusion measures for diverse and vulnerable
communities, including children with additional needs.
- Approximately $12.4 million
through the Government of Canada's
Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund to increase the
physical accessibility of ELCC spaces and support greater inclusion
for underserved communities including: families in rural and remote
communities, minority language communities, newcomer families,
low-income families, extended hour service providers and Indigenous
communities.
- With more than $2.7
million, the Government of Canada and New
Brunswick are collaborating with Indigenous communities and
organizations to identify areas of focus and establish
a plan for ELCC services for Indigenous children that is supported
by an Indigenous-led, strength-based coordination
process.
Reporting and Administration
- Over $16 million to support
the implementation and administration of the
Canada–New Brunswick Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care
Agreement, including building targeted capacity and additional
resources within the Government of New
Brunswick to support the implementation of initiatives, and
enhanced data collection and reporting.
Building a Canada-wide
early learning and child care system that works for families in
every region of the country is a key part of the Government of
Canada's plan to make life more
affordable for families and give kids the best possible start in
life, while supporting a strong workforce and growing the
economy.
Quotes
"We are at the halfway mark of our plan to make
$10-a-day child care a reality for
families in New Brunswick. While
we have made significant progress, more work needs to be
done. With this Action Plan, we have a clear path
forward on how we will work together to create new child care spots
to reduce waitlists, cut costs for families, and support the
workforce."
– The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families,
Children and Social Development
"Through investments like this, we're ensuring that Canadians,
and particularly Canadian women, in New
Brunswick and across the country don't have to choose
between having a career and having kids, and can be confident that
their children are benefitting from high-quality early learning and
child care services."
– The Honourable Dominic
LeBlanc, Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and
Intergovernmental Affairs
"We are grateful for our partnership with the federal
government as we continue building a quality early learning and
child care sector in New
Brunswick. This action plan will support New Brunswick families and their young
children as we work to bring affordable, inclusive, high-quality
child care to all areas of the province. I am proud to witness the
remarkable strides made over the past few years to improve
New Brunswick's early learning and
child care system. That being said, we know there is still work to
be done and we are committed to continuing to improve learning
environments for all our youngest learners."
– The Honourable Bill Hogan, Minister of Education and
Early Childhood Development for New
Brunswick
Quick facts
- As part of Budget 2021, the Government of Canada made a transformative investment of
more than $27 billion over five years
to build a Canada-wide early
learning and child care system with provinces and territories.
Combined with other investments, including in Indigenous early
learning and child care, up to $30
billion over five years will be provided in support of early
learning and child care.
- As part of the agreement with New
Brunswick, the Government of Canada is contributing close to $492 million over five years to help improve
regulated early learning and child care for children under the age
of 6 in the province. This is in addition to more than $48.1 million announced through the Canada–New
Brunswick ELCC Extension Agreement – 2021 to 2025, which includes
close to $9.3 million through a
one-time investment in 2021-2022 to support the early childhood
workforce.
- On May 15, 2024, the Governments
of Canada and New Brunswick announced the allocation of
$17.6 million over four years, with
approximately $12.4 million through
2025-2026 in federal funding to the province under the Early
Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund.
- Eight provinces and territories are delivering regulated early
learning and child care for an average of $10-a-day or less, and the remaining
jurisdictions have reduced fees by 50% or more compared to 2019
levels. The goal is that all families in Canada will have access to regulated early
learning and child care for an average cost of $10-a-dy by March
2026.
- As part of the Canada-wide
Early Learning and Child Care system, the Government of
Canada aims to create
approximately 250,000 new child care spaces across the country by
March 2026 to give all families
affordable child care options, no matter where they live.
Associated links
- Toward $10-a-day: Early Learning
and Child Care
- Canada – New Brunswick
Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2021 to
2026
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SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada