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Presented by Kerry McCuaig, Atkinson Centre Fellow In Early Childhood Policy; Zeenat Janmohamed, Visiting Scholar; and Romona Gananathan, Ph.D. Candidate, OISE, September 8, 2015, EECERA Annual Conference: Innovation, Experimentation & Adventure in Early Childhood.

Posted on The Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy.

Excerpt: "As Canadian political leaders embark on the longest election campaign in our history they are finding that child care is an issue resonating with voters. Among the unexpected interested are 160 scientists and a coalition of charitable foundations. Earlier this summer the groups issued separate public statements, each urging policy makers to invest in high quality programs for preschoolers."

In the Fall of 2015, the Human Early Learning Partnership was engaged by the provincial Early Years Office to complete an early stage evaluation of the lessons learned from the first twelve Early Years Centres (EYCs) funded under the government’s Early Years Strategy. This report documents the findings from this evaluation.

Excerpt: "The report offers recommendations to build a workforce that is unified by the foundation of the science of child development and early learning and the shared knowledge and competencies that are needed to provide consistent, high-quality support for the development and early learning of children from birth through age 8."

Excerpt: "This report summarizes what the Premier’s Community Hubs Framework Advisory Group heard when they met with community members, stakeholders and other government ministries to learn how the government can deliver public services through local, community hubs."

Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, comes into effect.

Poster presented by Emis Akbari, Post Doctoral Fellow, Atkinson Centre, June 18-21, 2015, Canadian Federation for University Women (CFUW), Annual General Meeting, Quebec City, Quebec.

Excerpt: "The OCB provides direct financial support to low- to moderate-income families with children under the age of 18. Starting July 1, 2015, the OCB, which supports about one million children in Ontario, will be increased to a maximum of $1,336 per child, per year."

What is the most powerful lever of change for post-secondary systems? The short answer: funding.

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is continuing to reduce kindergarten to Grade 3 class sizes by providing new support for additional classrooms across the province, Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum announced today."

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is committing funding for 14 new or expanded child-care centres and raising wages for child-care workers as part of a five-year plan to create a universally accessible child-care system and add 5,000 newly funded licensed spaces, Premier Greg Selinger announced today."

Excerpt: "Motion 2617(4) called for the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) to provide a feasibility study on the concept of universal and affordable child care delivered by people trained in early childhood development and education, similar to the systems in Québec and Scandinavia."