Policy Monitor

Excerpt: "Twenty-five school districts will each receive $200,000 to fund the construction of new accessible school playgrounds. “Playgrounds are more than just places to play, they are spaces where children make friends, build confidence and create memories,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Education and Child Care. “The new playgrounds we are announcing today will provide communities throughout B.C. with safe, accessible and inclusive spaces for kids and families to enjoy for years to come.”"

Excerpt: "Beginning in the fall of 2025, a significant number of school divisions will begin a pilot, noted the minister, with full implementation in all school divisions in fall 2026. All students will be screened in early fall for at least three consecutive years between kindergarten to Grade 4. A second screening will take place in the spring, which will be optional for students that meet benchmarks in the fall. School divisions will select from standardized evidence-based screening tools to ensure the program is reliable and can predict students who may be at risk of future reading difficulties including dyslexia."

Excerpt: "The YMCA of Pictou County and Citizens for a Health Pictou County are partnering with the Province to provide 70 more child-care spaces. The $2.7 million investment in infrastructure work gives families in the area more options and improved access to child care. “We know families are eager for child care that is close to home,” said Marco MacLeod, MLA for Pictou West, on behalf of Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “These new spaces in Pictou County create more options for Nova Scotians in these communities as we work toward our goal of creating 9,500 new child-care spaces by March 31, 2026.”"

Excerpt: "The Manitoba government is investing $6 million to support a revitalized Park Community Centre and non-profit child-care facility in downtown Brandon, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard announced here today. “This investment in the Park Community Centre creates a new option for working families looking for affordable daycare services in downtown Brandon,” said Simard. “Once completed, the Park Community Centre will offer a safe and inclusive place to enjoy rec services, cultural and social events and a brand-new licensed daycare centre.” A key component of the redevelopment of the Park Community Centre will be a licensed, non-profit child-care facility, ensuring more families in Brandon have access to affordable, high-quality care close to home, noted the minister."

Excerpt: "Child-care operators in Cumberland County are adding more spaces with funding from the Province, giving families more options and improved access. The Province is providing about $4.5 million in funding to two child-care operators, resulting in 77 new spaces. “By investing in child care, we invest in our future, helping families participate in the workforce and grow Nova Scotia's economy,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and MLA for Cumberland South, on behalf of Brendan Maguire, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development. “We will continue to work with all of our partners to add more spaces for Cumberland County.”"

Excerpt: "Manitoba’s Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Wage Grid is designed to support licensed and funded child care facilities in offering accessible, quality child care by recognizing the valuable contributions of the early learning and child care workforce in helping children learn, grow, and develop to their fullest potential. The ELCC Wage Grid provides guidance to licensed and funded early learning and child care facilities in developing equitable and competitive salary scales across employee positions/classifications. As the legal entity and authority, the board of directors of a non-profit child care centre is responsible for establishing wages. In family and group child care homes that employ staff, the licence holder is responsible for establishing wages. This approach preserves the authority of boards and child care home licence holders, while ensuring consistent and better wages are provided to the early learning and child care workforce. The Target Hourly Wage is the expected amount to be paid to staff based on their position/classification. Funding provided through the Wage Grid Supplement must be used to help meet the new Target wages on the 2025/26 Wage Grid for all position/classification levels on a facility’s salary scale."

Excerpt: "Further to the memo communication of November 26, 2024, regarding the Ontario Child Care and Early Years Funding Guidelines (“the Guidelines”), I am writing with additional updates to support municipal planning for 2025 and beyond, including: Results of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) space target
recalibration exercise; Information on the Early Learning and Child Care Infrastructure Fund; Updated 2025 Allocations; Updates to the Guidelines."

Excerpt: " The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) implemented today an increase of $3.5 million in Dedicated Wage Funding and a permanent increase of $664,000 in Flexible Funding to support the Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Sector. The Dedicated Wage Funding is intended to increase wages to early childhood educators working in licensed centre-based early learning and child care facilities. This funding represents a significant increase to the wage grid and increases the minimum that all early childhood educators in centre-based facilities must be paid by approximately $9/hour."

Excerpt: "In response to the devastating outbreak, Alberta’s government established an external review panel to identify ways to strengthen food safety legislation and inspection processes in kitchens servicing licensed child-care facilities. The review panel submitted its final report in the summer of 2024, outlining 12 main recommendations and 27 sub-recommendations. Immediate action was taken to begin to address key recommendations, including establishing clear expectations and a framework for public health inspections. Now, Alberta’s government is taking further steps to strengthen food safety in licensed child-care facilities. Starting March 26, Albertans are invited to participate in an online survey to help inform the implementation of the review panel’s recommendations and Alberta’s public health legislation, regulations, and policies related to food safety."

Excerpt: "The progress report highlights the Department of Education's dedication to meaningful systemic changes designed to improve student outcomes. Since 2019, the Department of Education has launched several initiatives to address the gaps in the Yukon’s education system and to improve student outcomes. These include: launching the Universal Child Care model; launching enhanced early kindergarten and full day kindergarten in most rural communities; working with the Chiefs Committee on Education to establish the First Nation School Board; finalizing a Collaboration Framework with Yukon First Nations; completing the Review of Inclusive and Special Education; advancing the Reimagining Inclusive and Special Education (RISE) work plan, which was developed with partners; developing a Comprehensive Mental Health and Wellness Approach that aligns with the Yukon’s Forward Together: Mental Wellness Strategy; launching the Ready-to-Learn Schools initiative; creating a data sharing agreement with Yukon First Nations and releasing publicly available student data reports; and initiating work and engagement on an Integrated Outcome for Yukon Learner Strategy, which will look at root causes of poor student outcomes, develop targets and evaluate progress on closing gaps."

Excerpt: "More than $62 million is being invested to create more than 750 new licensed child care spaces throughout B.C. through the accelerated space-creation programs. Once operational, these spaces will be eligible for the government’s fee reduction program, ensuring affordability for families. "As Langford continues to grow, ensuring affordable and high-quality child care spaces for families in our community remains a top priority,” said Scott Goodmanson, mayor of Langford. “We are grateful for the support from both the provincial and federal governments in addressing this need and helping us move forward. Partnerships like these are essential for achieving our shared goals.” Additionally, between March 1 and April 1, 2025, families will benefit from 770 new $10-a-day spaces at 22 child care centres throughout B.C., including in Surrey, Parksville and Williams Lake."

Excerpt: "Education and Early Childhood Learning reflects an increase of $247 million from the prior year budget, largely due to negotiating fair deals with educators and adding 630 more educators to the schools, increasing operating funding for schools by nearly five per cent to address growing enrolment, increased classroom
needs, a universal food program to help Manitoba kids learn, as well as a continued commitment to extending
the $10-a-day child care program to school-aged children on non-school days."