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News & Stories: Policy Monitor

February 6, 2025

Excerpt: "Children and families in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and East Hants will have more options and improved access to child care with up to 286 new spaces. Through Nova Scotia’s child-care space creation programs, the Province is providing $7.6 million to support six child-care operators to add the spots. “These investments are opening more access to affordable child care to help families in our fastest growing regions,” said Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “By investing in child care, we invest in families to participate in the workforce and grow our economy.”"
February 4, 2025

Excerpt: "Families in Cape Breton Regional Municipality are getting more access to child care with the addition of up to 49 spaces in Glace Bay. New Dawn Enterprises, a non-profit community organization, received funding to create the spaces, which will be located in its Glace Bay Youth and Family Centre."
January 30, 2025

Excerpt: "Alberta’s government and the Government of Canada are investing $53 million over two years in the Building Blocks Capital Grant Program to encourage the creation of new child-care spaces. The funds will help Alberta’s child-care providers create more affordable, high-quality spaces where Alberta families need them most. The grant will provide non-profit and public child-care providers the capital to build, expand, upgrade and make repairs to their existing facilities. These improvements must support the creation of new child-care spaces."
January 30, 2025

Excerpt: "Starting Apr. 1, parents with children zero to kindergarten age attending full-time licensed daycare facilities and family day home programs across the province will be eligible for a flat parent fee of $326.25 per month, or roughly $15 a day. Parents requiring part-time care will pay $230 per month. To support these changes and high-quality child care, about 85 per cent of licensed daycare providers will receive a funding increase once the new fee structure is in place on Apr. 1."
January 27, 2025

Excerpt: "The Ontario government is investing $1.3 billion to build 30 new schools and 15 school expansions across Ontario, creating more than 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 new licensed child care spaces. The investments address critical needs in growing areas of the province to provide students with modern learning spaces to help them achieve success."
January 27, 2025

Excerpt: "The Ontario government is investing $1.3 billion to support new school buildings, school expansions and renovations across the province. This funding for infrastructure projects through the 2024-25 Capital Priorities Program will lead to the creation of more than 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 new licensed child care spaces across 23 school boards."
January 16, 2025

Excerpt: "Continue implementing ChildCareBC to improve access to accessible, affordable
child care; Work with school districts to expand before- and after-school care programs across
the province using cost-effective models for parents and the public that leverage
existing school facilities and education workers."
January 9, 2025

Excerpt: "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a review of the certification process for early childhood educators. The RFP is seeking a vendor to evaluate the current certification process for early childhood educators and propose recommendations to shift to a competency-based approach to certification. A high-quality early learning workforce is a key component to ensuring the affordability, inclusivity and quality of early learning and child care programming in Newfoundland and Labrador."
December 20, 2024

Excerpt: "Today, the Governments of Saskatchewan and Canada have announced that regulated child care facilities across the province will now receive up to $3,200 per month for every child eligible under the Enhanced Accessibility (EA) Grant, an increase of $1,200. The EA Grant assists regulated child care facilities in covering the additional costs associated with offering services to children who have intensive needs across various areas of development."
December 16, 2024

Excerpt: "The government’s investments to create a Canada-wide system for $10-a-day child care are supporting higher labour force participation, empowering women to pursue both motherhood and a career, and helping to ensure that every child in Canada has the best possible start in life. Currently eight provinces and territories are delivering regulated child care at an average cost of $10-a-day or less, and the others have reduced fees by at least 50 per cent. The federal government’s $10-a-day child care system is saving families across
Canada thousands of dollars per child per year with some families saving up to $14,300 per child, per year, lowering the costs of working, and in turn boosting economic growth and incomes as more parents, especially mothers, enter the workforce."
December 13, 2024

Excerpt: "This year, 2020 to 2021, has set the stage for a robust Canada-wide ELCC system, promising a sustainable framework for generations to come. The 2020 Fall Economic Statement (FES) introduced measures such as a one-time workforce funding of $420 million and permanent bilateral extension funding, establishing a solid foundation for future development. The federal government also provided $400 million in 2020 to 2021 for continued support through bilateral agreements, alongside $625 million in emergency pandemic aid to provinces and territories. Our commitment to innovation in ELCC continues with a $100 million investment to explore and develop new approaches to improve service quality and accessibility. Additionally, the 2020 FES announced $70 million over 5 years and $15 million per year ongoing for Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care governance and the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Secretariat; $75 million in 2021 to 2022 to improve the quality, accessibility, and inclusivity of Indigenous child care programs; and $210 million per year ongoing by making previous funding permanent at 2027 to 2028 levels, beginning in 2028 to 2029."
December 9, 2024

Excerpt: "The Government of Saskatchewan is introducing legislative changes to The Child Care Act, 2014 to further assist in providing Saskatchewan families with greater access to affordable, high-quality early learning and child care opportunities. "The proposed amendments support our government's efforts to increase access to regulated child care," Education Minister Everett Hindley said. "These changes will allow the ministry to expand the types of regulated services as we work toward the expansion target of 28,000 new child care spaces by 2026.""