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News & Stories: Policy Monitor

February 23, 2018

Excerpt: "The agreement, which allocates close to $47 million over three years and aims to create an estimated 1,400 new and newly subsidized early learning and child care spaces in Manitoba, supports investments in: creating affordable child care spaces through enhanced capital funding and operating subsidies to support lower-income, French language and newcomer families as well as underserved communities; building sector capacity through education, training and skill development; developing a rural and Northern strategy to improve access to high-quality and affordable child care services; developing a new service and funding approach to support inclusive, active and meaningful participation of children with varying abilities and providing grants to community service organizations offering supportive family services to hire early childhood educators; and undertaking community engagement to successfully implement bilateral initiatives and support public reporting."
March 30, 2018

Excerpt: "Budget 2018 supports more than 700 new and newly funded spaces, including funding for new child care construction in communities and schools across Manitoba. This leverages $47 million over three years in federal child care support under the recently signed Bi-Lateral Agreement on Early Learning and Child Care. Budget 2018 also includes more than $2 million in funding for a refundable tax credit – the Child Care Centre Development Tax Credit – to encourage private businesses to create new child care spaces in the workplace. A strong education system today means a stronger Manitoba tomorrow."
January 17, 2020

Excerpt: "A strategy document outlines the transformation agenda that affects every area within the department, and which will continue to influence its work in the years to come. Some priority areas include: improving early learning and child-care options for Manitoba families, by supporting the creation of new child-care spaces and more child-care options for families, while also reviewing the current funding model to ensure sustainability."
July 30, 2020

Excerpt: "Canada and Manitoba agree that the long term vision, principles and objectives for early learning and child care, which are set out in the Framework that is attached as Annex 1, will guide the investment of funds provided under this Agreement."
August 24, 2020

Excerpt: "The agreement allocates over $15 million in 2020–21 for early learning and child care investments in Manitoba. In particular, the province will continue to invest in creating inclusive child care spaces, maintain its free online Science of Early Development living textbook, expand its core professional development program and mentorship program for at-home providers, and create a one-time, $1.5 million COVID-19 Response Grant for facilities that have re-opened during the pandemic."
August 30, 2020

Excerpt: "Canada and Manitoba agree that the long term vision, principles and objectives for early learning and child care, which are set out in the Framework that is attached as an annex (Annex 1), will guide the investment of funds provided under this Agreement."
October 30, 2020

Excerpt: "Your government will develop a modern child care system and funding model that will enable and support the child care sector to grow in line with demand from Manitoba families, provide greater equity in the type of support given to families, and offer choices and flexibility that reflects the needs and challenges today’s parents face."
November 18, 2020

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government will provide $10 million for a new Pandemic Staffing Support Benefit to help address urgent staffing needs in the disability services, child-care and child welfare sectors, Families Minister Heather Stefanson announced today, while also highlighting a number of other initiatives in place for agencies that provide services to adults with disabilities."
December 8, 2020

Excerpt: "The regulations set out under Bill 9, the Community Child Care Standards Amendment Act (Enhanced Powers Respecting Governance and Accountability), will streamline the licensing process for child-care centres, strengthen provisions related to health and safety, better support inclusion and accessibility for children, and ensure financial accountability for child-care subsidies."
January 21, 2021

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is investing an additional $50 million in school capital funding above the Budget 2020 commitment of $160 million for total funding of $210 million in kindergarten to Grade 12 school capital projects across the province, Education Minister Cliff Cullen and Central Services Minister Reg Helwer announced today."
March 11, 2021

Excerpt: "The minister noted the proposed legislation outlines five basic principles that must be taken into consideration when making decisions under the act including that: early learning and child-care services should ensure the health, safety, development and well-being of children; access to early learning and child-care services should enhance the economic opportunities available to parents; early learning and child-care services should be available on a continuum that is responsive to the diverse needs of families; promoting inclusion and respect, and accommodating diversity should be inherent in early learning and child-care services; and public funding should promote fiscal responsibility and the sustainability of early learning and child-care services."
April 30, 2021

Excerpt: "The Province is making major investments in 2021/22 to improve sustainability of the child care system, create child care spaces and give parents and caregivers more child care options to meet their needs. These investments include: $2.4 million in ongoing operating grants for 2,992 licensed nursery school spaces as part of the transition to a fair and equitable single funding model for all nursery school programs. As part of the new funding model, 96 nursery school programs (1,674 spaces) will receive an increase to their annual grant amount; $1.5 million in operating grant funding for 541 licensed spaces including 149 licensed spaces from capital projects which are targeted to open in 2021/22 for a total of over 2,600 new spaces by the way of capital projects receiving funding annually since 2016/17; and $95 thousand in operating support for 50 new home-based licensed child care spaces in 2021/22. To date, 225 spaces will have been opened over four years."