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October 30, 2020

Speech from the Throne

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."
October 30, 2020

Canada-Yukon Early Learning and Child Care Agreement – 2020-2021

Excerpt: "Canada and Yukon agree that the long term vision, principles and objectives for early learning and child care, which are set out in the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework that is attached as an Annex (Annex 1), will guide the investment of funds provided under this Agreement."
October 29, 2020

Protecting democracy during the pandemic

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.
October 21, 2020

Ontario Expanding Mental Health Services for Children and Youth

Excerpt: "The Ontario government is providing $24.3 million in targeted investments to hire additional staff, increase access to counselling and therapy, create new programs to help manage stress, depression and anxiety, and address eating disorders and other challenges facing children and youth. This funding is part of the government's $176 million investment in the Roadmap to Wellness, a comprehensive plan to build a fully connected mental health and addictions system across the province."
October 20, 2020

Ontario Invests $550 Million to Build and Upgrade Schools

Excerpt: "The Ontario government is investing $550 million to build 20 new schools and eight permanent school additions across the province in 2020-21. These new projects will create nearly 16,000 new student learning spaces and 870 new licensed child care spaces as part of the government's ongoing efforts to improve and build modern schools."
October 19, 2020

Canada’s woeful track record on children set to get worse with COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on The Conversation.

Excerpt: "Strong, focused and equitable policies to support children are needed now more than ever. Now that we have seen decades of consistent evidence of inequity and poverty, Canadian policy makers should not need to see another report. They need to take action. Canada’s children deserve better. They need federal efforts to rectify the obvious opportunity gaps. Canada’s track record leaves out too many: it needs to do better. Not tomorrow, today."
October 16, 2020

A Year-By-Year Approach to Investing in Early Learning and Child Care

Excerpt: "Fair compensation and supported working conditions are a proven formula for incenting ECE graduates to return to the sector. For example, almost half of the 53,000 registered educators in Ontario’s College of ECEs do not work in licensed child care, largely because of low wages and poor working conditions. Nova Scotia has demonstrated it is possible to bring back and retain these skilled workers. When the province rolled out its universal pre-primary school program, 70% of the educator positions were filled by certified ECEs who returned to the profession. Many moved back to N.S. to work in the program. It is a striking example of how recruitment prospects really change when workers are paid commensurate to their training and skills."
October 15, 2020

COVID shows why child care needs to be free

The Atkinson Centre promotes research on child development, and the development of early learning policy and practice that serve young children and their families.